AS*fJ 


*    A    STUDY    OF 
ENGLISH   WORDS 

By  JESSIE   MACMILLAN   ANDERSON 


NEW  YORK:.  CINCINNATI:  CHICAGO 
AMERICAN   BOOK   COMPANY 


Copyright,  1897,  by 
AMERICAN  BOOK  COMPANY. 

STUDY  OF  BNQ.   WORDS 

w.  P.  17 


TO 

Cfte  Ee&erenti  Sameg  iWiarsfjall  antiergon 

WHO,    A    STUDENT   OF    ANCIENT    AND    MODERN    LANGUAGES, 

HAS    TAUGHT    ME    FROM    MY    EARLY   CHILDHOOD 

TO   LOOK    FOE    THE    HIDDEN    BEAUTIES 

OF    OUR   ENGLISH    SPEECH 

THIS  BOOK  IS  LOVINGLY  INSCRIBED 


266949 


PREFACE 


The  study  of  English  as  language  is  beginning  to 
find  its  rightful  place,  parallel  with  the  study  of  Eng- 
lish as  literature. 

Archbishop  Trench  and  Richard  Grant  White,  in  their 
works  on  words,  were  pioneers  in  this  direction.  From 
our  very  position  as  followers,  we  cannot  claim  the  origi- 
nality of  these  leaders,  but  we  have  the  advantage  of  the 
records  of  late  scholarship,  far  deeper  and  broader  and 
more  trustworthy  than  the  accepted  traditions  on  which 
they  based  their  statements. 

.  This  little  book  is  believed  to  be  the  first  effort  to 
bring  within  schoolroom  scope  and  schoolbook  form 
the  latest  discoveries  of  language  students  about  Eng- 
lish. After  Trench  and  White  and  Skeat,  the  author 
is  indebted  to  Whitney  and  Emerson  ;  and  Professor 
Jackson  of  Columbia  University  has  most  kindly  allowed 
the  use  of  his  table  for  distinguishing  word-origins  at 
sight  (page  46). 

Although  the  book  is  meant  as  a  stepping-stone  from 
Grammar  to  Rhetoric  and  the  History  of  English  Litera- 


6  PREFACE 

ture,  by  means  of  an  elastic  set  of  Topics  at  the  close 

of  each  chapter,  original  and  varied  work  may  be  done 

by  more  advanced  classes,  if  desired. 

It   is   the   author's    hope    that    this    elementary   work 

may   help    toward   the    time    when    our    boys    and    girls 

shall   know   more    of    their    English    tongue,    and    shall 

feel  increasingly  the  charm  and  worth  of  their  language 

inheritance. 

J.  M.  A. 

April,  1897. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   I 

PAOK 

General  Principles  of  Language  Growth 9 

Difference  between  Organism  and  Mechanism ;  Language  is 
Organic  ;  Dead  Languages ;  Ancestry  and  Descendants ;  The 
•  Indo-European  Family  ;  Alphabets :  Consonants  and  Vowels, 
Classification  of  Consonants;  Grimm's  Law,  Change  in  Words 
upon  being  used  by  Different  Nations ;  Growth  of  Compound 
Words ;  Danger  of  Mistaken  Etymologies. 

CHAPTER   II 

Origin  and  Growth  of  English 23 

How  a  Language  changes  as  it  travels  ;  Influences  of  Geo- 
graphical Position ;  Traces  in-  English  of  the  Roman  Invasion, 
Celtic  Element,  Arrival  of  the  German  Tribes,  —  Angles,  Saxons, 
Jutes ;  Ecclesiastical  Latin ;  Scandinavian  or  Norse,  Norman 
French ;  Early  English ;  Wyclif  and  Chaucer,  Differences  be- 
tween Early  and  Modern  English,  Spelling ;  Other  Elements  in 
English,  Greek  Words  in  English  ;  Technical  Terms ;  a  Simpler 
Classification. 

CHAPTER   III 

Greek,    Latin,  and    French    Elements    in    English   specially 

Considered 34 

Greek,  Latin,  and  French  Derivatives,  —  General  Description, 
with  Lists  of  Stems  under  Each  ;  Distinguishing  Traits  of  the 
Saxon  Element ;  Hints  for  approximately  testing  Origin  by  Spell- 
ing ;  Diagram  showing  Proportion  of  Elements  in  English. 

CHAPTER   IV 
Growth  and  Change  in  Form  of  English  Words 50 

Roots  ;  Stems ;  Inflectional  Change  ;  Compounds,  Prefixes,  — 
Greek,  Latin,  French,  English;  Suffixes,  —  Greek,  Latin,  Eng- 
lish ;  Weakening  of  Endings. 

7 


8  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   V 

rAOE 

The  Spelling  of  Latin-English 66 

Derivatives  from  Verb  Stems ;  Exceptions ;  Exercise  in 
forming  Words  from  Latin  Verb  Stems  ;  Adjectives  in  -ble ; 
Derivatives  from  Noun  Stems;    Weakened  Forms. 

CHAPTER   VI 

Growth  and  Change  in  the  Meaning  of  Words 70 

Development  of  Meanings ;  Principles  of  Change  ;  Change 
from  Physical  Meaning  to  Mental ;  Transfer  of  Meaning,  in 
Latin  and  Saxon  Words ;  History  traced  in  the  Growth  of 
Words ;  Narrowing  of  Meaning. 

CHAPTER   VII 
Latin  and  Saxon  English 82 

Effect  of  the  Latin  and  Saxon  Elements ;  Character  of  the 
Saxon  Element ;  Choice  between  Latin  and  Saxon  Words ; 
Latin  the  Language  of  Exact  Science ;  Proper  Use  of  Saxon 
Words  ;  Proportion  of  Latin  and  Saxon  Vocabulary  at  Different 
Periods,  with  Quotations  from  Representative  Writers. 

CHAPTER   VIII 

The  Artist's  and  the  Scientist's  Use  of  Words 93 

Association  of  Words  ;  Value  of  the  Associative  Element 
in  Meanings;   Illustrations. 

CHAPTER   IX 

'^  Synonyms 98 

Meanings,  by  Derivation,  Development,  and  Association ;  Ex- 
amination of  Several  Groups  of  Synonyms,  with  Regard  to  Dis- 
tinctions ;  No  Absolute  Synonyms ;  Value  of  Distinguishing 
Synonyms,  with  Illustrations  from  Shakespeare  and  Matthew 
Arnold ;  Choice  of  Words  in  Argument ;  in  Persuasion  and 
Diplomacy. 

CHAPTER   X 

Rhythm Ill 

Prose  Accent ;  Recurrence  of  Unaccented  Syllables ;  Value  of 
Prose  Rhythms  illustrated  from  Stevenson  and  Dr.  R.  S.  Storrs. 


A   STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

CHAPTER   I 

GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  LANGUAGE  GROWTH 

Difference  between  Organism  and  Mechanism.  —  One  of 

the  differences  between  a  house  and  a  tree  is  that  the 
tree  was  once  a  child  tree,  while  the  house  was  never  a 
child  house.  The  tree  began  with  a  little  set  of  roots, 
a  weak  little  trunk,  and  small  and  few  branches ;  the 
house  did  not  begin  with  a  little  kitchen,  a  tiny  front 
door,  and  a  roof  three  inches  from  the  ground. 

We  say  of  the  tree  that  it  grew^  and  of  the  house 
that  it  was  built.  There  was  within  the  tree  a  some- 
thing which  made  the  parts  swell  out  and  shoot  up ;  the 
house  was  enlarged  by  adding  on,  first  one  story,  then 
another.  The  difference  may  be  seen  in  this :  while  the 
house  is  building,  we  can  point  out  just  what  has  been 
done  each  day,  — ''  They  have  laid  ten  more  rows  of 
bricks,"  or  ''They  have  put  in  the  staircases";  of  the 
tree  we  can  only  say,  "  It  is  bigger,  stronger  than  it 
was.     It  is  developing." 

For  these  two  classes  of  things,  —  those  which  ^r^ow 
and  those  which  are  made^  —  we  have  two  important 
names  :    Organism  and  Mechanism.      The  first  question 

9 


10  STUDY    OF   ENGLISH    WORDS 

of  our  present  study  is,  To  which  class  does  Language 
belong  ? 

Language  is  Organic.  —  In  examining  the  history  of 
primitive  language,  we  find  that  its  parts  are  not  brought 
together  all  ready-made,  like  bricks  for  a  house,  but  begin 
as  baby  words  and  grow  to  maturity,  changing  as  a  boy's 
features  change ;  yet  the  same,  and  recognizable  in  their 
developed  forms,  as  the  boy's  nose  and  hands  are  recog- 
nizable in  the  grown  man's.  Like  a  tree,  again,  the 
growth  of  the  whole  is  irregular  ;  language  sends  out 
an  unexpected  shoot  here,  and  there  it  loses  a  branch 
through  scanty  supply  of  sap  at  that  point.  The  many 
ways  in  which  language  life  is  like  tree  life  may  be 
guessed  from  the  student's  use  of  the  words  root^  stem^ 
branch,  to  express  the  facts  of  language  growth. 

The  deeper  we  go,  the  clearer  it  becomes  that  a  lan- 
guage is  Organic ;  that  like  a  tree,  like  a  human  being, 
it  has  life  and  the  stages  of  life,  —  childhood,  maturity, 
old  age,  death. 

Dead  Languages.  —  We  call  a  language  dead  when  its 
life  as  a  language  is  finished,  though  as  a  literature  it 
may  still  live  and  convey  thought.  Such  a  literature 
is  not  unlike  a  mummy ;  and  as  of  a  man's  living  appear- 
ance his  mummy  brings  down  to  us  very  slight  and  vague 
notion,  so  of  the  beauty  and  richness  of  an  ancient  tongue 
we  miss  much  when  we  study  it  as  a  dead  language.     ■ 

Ancestry  and  Descendants.  —  Another  sign  of  organic 
life,  long  lines  of  ancestors  and  descendants,  may  be 
traced  in  languages  as  in  men.  Take,  for  example, 
Latin.  It  is  a  dead  language,  but  it  has  left  many 
living  children.  When  the  Romans  fought  and  con- 
quered the  savage  tribes  in  the  countries  around  them, 
these  tribes  learned  to  use  the  Latin  tongue.      So  the 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES  OF  LANGUAGE  GROWTH         11 

Latin  took  root  and  sent  out  shoots  in  the  places  which 
we  now  call  France  and  Spain  and  Portugal.  Like  a 
tree,  when  it  died,  it  left  offshoots  in  these  lands  as 
well  as  in  Italy  ;  or  like  a  human  mother,  Latin  left 
her  children,  one  at  home,  the  others  scattered.  And 
like  transplanted  trees,  or  like  children  of  the  same 
stock  educated  apart,  these  all  grew  up,  alike  and  yet 
unlike,  with  family  features,  and  individual  variations 
on  these.  Thus  we  have  the  Romance  ('  from  the 
Roman')  languages  of  Modern  Europe.  And  their 
family  tide  is  like  this :  — 

LATIN 


,     I  I  I  I 

Italian      French      Spanish      Portuguese 

The  Indo-European  Family.  —  For  the  ancestors  of 
Latin  we  must  go  back  to  a  vaguer  record.  Scholars 
tell  us  that  there  was  an  original  family  —  which  they 
call  the  Indo-European  —  and  that  it  gradually  spread 
and  covered  large  parts  of  Asia  and  nearly  all  of 
Europe.  Of  the  common  grandmother  tongue  we  have 
nothing  left,  not  even  a  mummy.  But  there  seem  to 
have  been  eight  branches  in  this  family  tree.  We  will 
look  at  these,  leaving  out  some  of  the  unfamiliar  names 
in  order  to  give  all  our  attention  to  the  more  impor- 
tant ones. 

These  eight  branches  did  not,  however,  all  sprout 
directly  from  the  original  trunk,  and  at  even  distances 
from  one  another.  From  the  fact  that  some  of  them 
are  very  much  alike  (especially  the  Hellenic  and 
Italic),  it  is  clear  that  these,  for  example,  have  not 
been  separated  so  long  from  each  other  as  from  the 
others. 


12 


STUDY  OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 


Vedic 
I  ,  Sanskrit 

pi  Aryan- 1  j  old  Persian 

f  Avestan 


II  Armenian 


—  Ill  Hellenic  —  Attic  Greek 


rV  Albanian  (the  language  of 
ancient  lllyria) 


L  Indian 
Iranian  ] 


PUmbrian 
Oscan 


I— 1 


(  Italian,  French 
'  i  Spanish,  Portuguese 


E  Gallic 
Britannic  — Welsh,  Cornish 
Gaelic  —  Irish,  Scotch-Gaelic,  Manx 


EOld  Prussian,  Lithuanian 
Russian,  Bulgarian 
Bohemian,  Polish 


L-VIII  Teutonic - 


-  Scandinavian 


-  Low  German 


As  has  been  said,  we  have 
no  remnant  of  the  original 
Indo-European  tongue, 
therefore  none  of  these  lan- 
guages can  be  traced  back  to 
their  source ;  but  Sanskrit, 
with  the  kindred  Avestan,  is 
undoubtedly  nearest  to  the 
original  form  of  the  parent 
speech.  The  farther  back  we 
go  in  the  history  of  the  Indo- 
European  languages,  the  more 
alike  do  the  words  of  the 
various  branches  become,  — 
especially  the  simple,  familiar, 
necessary  words,  —  pointing  to 
the  same  roots  in  an 
original  childlike 
speech,  variations  of 
which  formed  the  lan- 
guage of  our  dis- 
tant ancestors 
while  they  were 
still  living  near 
one  another  in 
some  common 
home.  But  wjiere 
this  original  home 
was,  whether  in 
Europe  or  in 
Asia,  can  prob- 
ably never  be 
determined. 


I —  Gothic 

Norwegian 
Icelandic 
Danish 
Swedish 

—  High  German  —  German 
Frisian 
Dutch 
Flemish 
[  English 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  LANGUAGE  GROWTH         13 

From  the  chart,  Latin  and  English  are  seen  to  belong 
to  the  same  Family,  but  not  to  the  same  Branch.  The 
English  language  is  Teutonic,  though  she  has  inherited 
much  from  her  aunts,  Greek  and  Latin,  and  has  borrowed 
largely  from  her  cousins,  especially  French,  and  from  her 
sisters,  especially  Modern  (High)  German  (called  High 
because  spoken  on  the  high  lands,  while  the  twin  Low 
German  languages,  Dutch  and  English,  or  Anglo-Saxon, 
were  the  lowland  tongues). 

This  is  but  a  hint  of  the  vast  study  of  the  Genealogy  of 
Languages.  Let  us  now  look  at  one  great  trait  of  every 
developed  language,  the  mode  of  writing  it,  and  trace 
therein  the  laws  of  heredity  and  growth. 

Development  of  Written  Characters.  —  The  earliest  writ- 
ten language  of  which  we  know  anything  is  the  picture 
writing  of  the  Egyptians,  called  the  Hieroglyphic,  from 
the  Greek  words  meaning  'sacred  carvings,'  because  it 
was  used  to  carve  in  stone  the  priestly  records.  From 
these  hieroglyphics  we  can  trace  the  stages  in  the  devel- 
opment of  alphabets. 

The  hieroglyphics  were  actually  rude  pictures  of  things. 
If  one  wished  to  write  sun  or  moon^  he  made  a  picture, 
somewhat  like  our  modern  almanac's  O,  ^. 

The  second  stage  was  the  drawing  of  one  thing,  to  rep- 
resent several  words  sounding  alike ;  as  if,  for  instance, 
we  should  make  the  picture  of  a  pear,  to  mean  either  pear 
or  pair  or  pare^  with  some  little  sign  to  show  which  was 
intended. 

This  soon  led  to  the  third  stage  of  writing,  the  Syllabic. 
In  this,  each  figure,  instead  of  representing  a  whole  word, 
represented  a  syllable. 

The  fourth  step  was  to  have  each  figure  represent  only 
a  letter,  and  this  is  the  real  beginning  of  an  alphabet. 


14  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

The  pictures  began  to  have  fewer  and  fewer  strokes ;  till 
we  have,  for  example,  the  Phoenician  sign  <,  which  the 
Greeks  changed  to  A  and  the  later  Romans  to  A.  So 
Egypt  was  probably  the  birthplace  of  the  alphabet  now 
used  over  nearly  all  Europe. 

In  some  of  the  Roman  numerals,  we  find  traces  of  the 
old  picture  writing.  I,  II,  III,  IIII  may  have  arisen  from 
the  holding  up  of  the  fingers  in  counting. 

Our  Saxon  ancestors  had  another  kind  of  writing,  called 
Runic.  The  Runic  alphabet  consisted  of  sixteen  Runes, 
or  letters,  written  almost  wholly  in  straight  lines,  partly 
because  they  were  carved  in  stone  and  hard  woods.  We 
can  see  a  trace  of  these  old  Runes  in  an  Anglo-Saxon 
letter  called  thorn^  ]>  —  our  th.  This  letter  looked  some- 
what like  y,  and  that  is  the  reason  that  the  old  English 
the  is  so  often  written  ye  or  y^.  It  was  really  '})e,'  and 
was  always  pronounced  'the.' 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  sixth  century,  the  English 
nation  began  to  use  the  Roman  alphabet,  and  in  the 
eleventh  century  they  had  the  Black-letter  method  of 
writing  it  (the  origin  of  the  present  German  type). 

The  two  present  forms  came  from  Italy,  and  accord- 
ingly are  named  — 

The  Roman  .     .     •     «     A,  a. 
The  Italic      .     .     .     .     A,  a. 

We  have  now  shown  that  languages  inherit,  and  hand 
down  with  slight  changes,  such  special  features  as  alpha- 
bets, just  as  a  particular  nose  may  be  found  in  a  tribe  or 
family,  distinguishable  for  generation  after  generation. 
We  shall  now  see  how  such  special  features  help  us 
greatly  in  tracing  the  origin  of  modern  languages  and 
dialects. 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  LANGUAGE   GROWTH         15 

Resemblances  and  Changes  in  Words.  —  Of  course  the 
most  distinct  signs  of  family  relationships  among  lan- 
guages are  the  Words  that  they  may  have  in  common. 
Such  words  often  appear  so  changed  as  to  be  hardly 
recognizable  by  one  who  looks  at  them  carelessly,  while 
a  student  will  see  in  them  a  deep  likeness  that  could  not 
have  come  by  chance. 

As  in  all  growth,  there  is  no  absolute  regularity  in 
these  changes ;  but  again,  as  in  all  growth,  there  are 
underlying  and  general  laws.  The  law  of  the  Variation 
of  Consonants  in  the  Indo-European  family  of  languages 
was  discovered  by  Jacob  Grimm  and  his  brother,  and  is 
called  Grimm's  Law.  (These  are  the  famous  Fairy  Tale 
Grimms,  and  the  law  is  as  interesting  as  the  fairy  tales, 
when  one  takes  the  time  to  understand  it  fully.) 

Consonant  and  Vowel.  —  What  is  a  consonant  ?  The 
name  comes  from  the  Latin  consonans^  which  means 
'sounding  with ';  and  was  given  to  one  class  of  sounds, 
because  they  were  thought  not  to  be  "vocal"  except 
when  sounded  with  a  vowel ;  while  those  letter  sounds 
wliich  were  of  themselves  vocal  were  called  Vowels  (a 
word  from  the  Latin  vocalis,  modified  by  the  French  form, 
voyelle). 

This  distinction  is  not  the  most  accurate.  The  two 
sounds  of  the  consonant  5,  for  instance,  can  be  sounded  as 
clearly,  alone,  as  with  a  vowel.  The  distinction  is  rather 
of  degree  of  openness  or  closeness.  The  vowel  sounds  are 
the  freest,  because  the  breath  is  allowed  to  pass  through 
the  throat  and  mouth  with  the  least  obstruction ;  while  the 
true  consonant  sounds  are  shaped  by  the  palate  or  tongue 
or  lips  or  teeth,  considerably  obstructing  the  passage  of 
the  breath.  All  vocal  sounds,  whether  vowel  or  conso- 
nant, are   varied  by  the  variation  of   the  shape  of   the 


16  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

throat  and  mouth,  while  the  breath  is  passing  through ; 
just  as  the  shape  of  the  cavity  in  a  wind  instrument 
determines  the  quality  of  its  tone.  In  the  vowel  sounds, 
the  breath  is,  simply,  shaped.  In  the  semivowels  the 
breath  is  slightly  obstructed  in  its  passage.  In  the  true 
consonant  sounds,  the  breath  is  actually  blocked  in  its 
exit.  For  instance,  the  vowel  sound  a  (as  in  father^ 
is  shaped  by  freely  opening  throat,  mouth,  and  lips,  — 
giving  the  least  possible  obstruction  to  the  passage  of 
the  breath.  The  sound  of  the  semivowel  w  (as  in  water) 
is  somewhat  closer,  the  breath  slightly  obstructed  before 
passing  into  the  a-sound.  The  true  consonant  sounds  are 
closed^  in  less  or  greater  degree. 

Classification  of  Consonants.  —  If  closed  by  the  lips,  they 
are  called  Labial  (j9,  S,  /). 

If  by  the  teeth.  Dental  (t^  d^  tJi). 

If  by  the  throat.  Guttural  (^,  g^  K). 

If  by  the  palate,  Palatal  (/,  ch). 

Breathed  and  Voiced  Q'Hard''  and  '-^ Soft'')  Consonants. 
— There  is  another  classification  of  these  true  consonants, 
equally  clear,  and  equally  recognized  by  authorities,  al- 
though, unfortunately,  variously  named.  By  comparing 
the  sounds  of  p  and  J,  t  and  c?,  c  (k)  and  ^,  it  will  be  found 
thatp,  f,  c  can  be  pronounced  simply  by  expelling  the  breathy 
while  5,  d,  g  require  the  use  of  the  vocal  chords  as  well. 

The  two  classes  have  been,  therefore,  called  Breathed 
and  Voiced.  Including  with  these  consonants  the  Aspi- 
rates /  (  =  jt?^),  th^  A,  we  may  now  build  up  a  little  table 
with  which  to  illustrate  the  principles  of  Grimm's  Law :  — 


Labial 

Dental 

Guttural 

Breathed  .    . 

•     P 

t 

C(=k) 

Voiced .     .     . 

.     h 

d 

9 

Aspirate    .    . 

.    /(=ph) 

th 

k 

GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  LANGUAGE  GROWTH         17 

Grimm's  Law.  — The  principle  of  Grimm's  Law  is  that 
words  in  coming  down  from  the  Indo-European,  or  in 
passing  from  one  branch  of  this  family  to  another,  have 
changed  their  consonants  according  to  these  columns. 
That  is  to  say,  the  change  is  not  by  chance.  For  exam- 
ple, the  Latin  and  Greek  p  is  in  English  an  /;  while 
the  Latin  and  Greek  /  is  in  English  changed  to  I.  (All 
these  are  in  the  same  column,  and  differ  in  force  of  check 
given  to  the  breath,  being  closed  at  the  same  place.) 

For  instance,  we  have  :  — 


Latin 

English 

pater 

pater 

father 

phrater 

(=frater) 

frater 

brother 

We  find  another  illustration  of  the  law  in  the  clas- 
sical soft  changed  to  an  English  hard,  a  Greek  or 
Latin  d  into  an  English  t\  — 

Greek  Latin  English 

duo  duo  two 

The  regular  rotation  of  consonants  is  thus  summed  up  by 
Grimm :  If  A  is  written  for  Aspirate,  V  for  Voiced,  B  for 
Breathed,  the  following  table  will  show  the  differences :  — 


Greek,  Latin 

Low  German,  English 

High  German 

A 

V 

B 

V 

B 

A 

B 

A 

V 

This  can  be  readily  memorized  by  noticing  that,  whether 
read  vertically  or  horizontally,  we  have  AVB,  VBA,  BAV. 
There  is,  then,  a  regular  change  of  consonants,  in  words 
appearing  in  different  branches  of  the  same  family.  Let 
us  notice  another  regular  set  of  changes. 

STIT.   ENG.  WOBDS 2 


18  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

Changes  in  Consonant  Groups.  —  Many  combinations  of 
consonants  found  easy  to  the  tongues  of  one  nation,  seem 
harsh  and  difficult  to  another  nation  and  are  avoided  by 
them.  For  example,  the  French  do  not  like  s  before 
(?(  =  k),  ^,  or  p. 

Hence  in  taking  from  the  Latin  such  words  as  scapus^ 
spiritus^  stomachus^  they  put  an  e  in  front,  to  break  the 
combination,  throwing  the  s  back  with  the  e.  We  have 
thus  the  French  escape,  esprit,  estomac. 

In  many  like  words,  they  afterwards  dropped  the  s ;  and 
we  find  — 

Latin  French 

schola  ecole 

siudium  etude 

Syllables  Shortened  and  Dropped.  —  Another  frequent 
change  in  words  passing  from  Latin  to  French  is  found 
in  the  shortening  process.  Those  syllables  that  follow 
the  accented  syllable  of  the  Latin  word  are  either  cut 
down  or  dropped  altogether.     For  instance  :  — 

Latin  French 

pdpulus  peuple 

dngelus  ange 

Growth  of  Compound  Words.  —  A  most  interesting  ele- 
ment in  the  growth  of  words,  whether  within  their  original 
language  or  in  process  of  transfer  to  another,  is  the  form- 
ing of  compounds.  For  example,  from  such  a  combination 
as  the  Latin  vera  mente,  '  with  true  mind,'  we  come  to 
such  a  compound  as  the  French  vraiment,  'truly.'  And 
this  ending,  -ment,  becomes  the  usual  French  suffix  for 
forming  adverbs  from  adjectives  ;  as  our  ending  -ly,  was 
once  a  separate  word,  like  ;  true-like  (German  treulicK)  = 
truly. 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  LANGUAGE  GROWTH         19 

Danger  of  Mistaken  Etymologies.  —  One  more  point 
needs  taking  up,  before  we  go  on  to  our  special  study 
of  the  English  tongue  in  its  growth  and  changes ;  and 
that  is  an  earnest  warning  to  young  students.  These 
changes  that  come  about,  in  the  life  and  growth  of  any 
language,  often  disguise  the  word  altogether,  and  it  is 
only  by  the  closest  and  most  cautious  historical  study  that 
the  origin  of  a  word  is  with  any  certainty  traced.  Very 
often  there  are  several  laws  acting  together,  each  of 
which  would  be  simple  enough  if  acting  alone,  while 
the  complex  result  of  the  interaction  of  all  is  very 
puzzling. 

There  are  also  mere  coincidences  that  look  like  laws ; 
for,  as  in  every  branch  of  science,  many  instances  must 
agree  before  we  can  be  sure  of  an  underlying  prin- 
ciple. 

Many  mistakes  about  words  have  already  been  made, 
and  corrected  by  later  investigations ;  and  it  is  only  in 
the  latest  dictionaries  that  one  is  told  whether  the  offered 
derivations  are  certain  or  only  accepted  for  lack  of  better 
knowledge. 

There  are  words  that  do  not  look  alike,  that  can  be 
proved  to  be  historically  related,  perhaps  in  direct  genea- 
logical line  ;  as  is  the  case  w4th  the  words  jT,  je,  ik,  ich^ 
ego.  And  there  are  words  that  look  alike  and  have  the 
same  meaning,  which  have  been  proved,  nevertheless,  to 
have  no  historical  connection  ;  as  the  Greek  holos  and  the 
English  whole,  the  Latin  compono  and  the  English  compose. 

All  language  changes  are  especially  active  in  the  forma- 
tive period,  the  childhood  of  the  language. 

We  shall  begin  our  study  of  English,  then,  with  an 
examination  of  these  early  years  and  conditions  of  what 
we  call  Angk)-Saxon. 


20  STUDY   OF    ENGLISH   WORDS 

QUESTIONS   ON   CHAPTER   I 

1.  What  is  the  difference  between  growing  and  being  made? 

2.  Give  five  examples  of  each  process,  besides  the  house 
and  tree. 

3.  How  are  the  two  classes  of  things  named  ? 

4.  To  which  class  does  language  belong?  Explain.  In 
what  respects  is  language  growth  like  the  growth  of  a  man  or 
of  a  tree  ? 

5.  What  is  meant  by  a  "  dead  language  "  ? 

6.  What  is  meant  by  "  families  "  of  languages  ? 

7.  What  children  has  Latin  left  us  ? 

8.  From  what  tongue  has  Latin  herself  descended  ? 

9.  Write  out  the  Indo-European  family  tree,  as  given. 
Which  two  branches  belong  to  Asia  ?    How  many  to  Europe  ? 

10.  To  what  branch  of  this  family  does  English  belong  ? 
and  to  which  is  she  most  nearly  related  ? 

11.  What  do  we  mean  by  "  High ''  and  "  Low  "  German  ? 

12.  What  was  the  earliest  method  of  writing  ? 

13.  Through  what  four  stages  did  this  pass,  to  reach  an 
alphabet  ? 

14.  Give  the  earlier  forms  of  our  A. 

15.  What  trace  of  pictorial  writing  have  we  in  the  Eoman 
numerals  ? 

16.  What  were  the  Eunes  ? 

17.  Explain  how  the  came  to  be  written  y*. 

18.  In  what  century  did  our  nation  use  the  Eoman  alpha- 
bet ?  When  did  we  write  it  in  Black  Letter  ?  From  what 
country  came  the  present  mode  of  writing  ? 

19.  How  are  family  relationships  traced  among  languages  ? 

20.  What  is  the  law  of  consonant  change  among  the  lan- 
guages of  the  Indo-European  Family  called  ? 

21.  What  is  the  derivation  of  the  word  consonant  9  What 
distinction  did  this  imply  ? 

22.  What  is  the  truer  distinction  between  vowels  and  con- 
sonants ? 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  LANGUAGE  GROWTH         21 

23.  How  is  all  variation  of  vocal  sound  produced  ? 

24.  In  this  sense,  what  are  the  exact  distinctions  of  "  vowel," 
"  semivowel,^'  and  "  consonant ''  sounds  ?     Give  examples. 

25.  Give  the  classification  of  consonants  according  to  the 
point  at  which  they  are  partially  closed. 

26.  Give  the  classification  according  to  the  force  of  the  check. 

27.  Write  the  table,  combining  these  classifications. 

28.  Give  words  illustrating  the  change  of  consonants  by 
Grimm's  Law.  Also  the  mnemonic  table  (mnemonic  from  a 
Greek  word  for  ^memory'). 

29.  What  two  general  changes  in  spelling  are  found  in  many 
words  passing  from  Latin  into  modern  French  ? 

30.  Illustrate  the  formation  of  compound  words. 

31.  Explain  the  necessity  for  caution  in  word  study. 

TOPICS  IN  CONNECTION   WITH  CHAPTER  I 

[For  Review  or  Advanced  Work] 

I.    Organisms  and  Mechanisms. 

In  the  following  list  distinguish  the  two  classes :  — 

steam-engine     family         mine  seal 

butterfly  nation         umbrella  seal-muff 

Prepare  an  original  list  under  each  class. 

II.    The  principal  words  of  Chapter  I. 

Look  up  in  Webster  the  derivation  of  the  words  — 

alphabet  family         history  characteristic 

genealogy  language     development     literature 

III.    Some  Facts  about  Latin. 

When  was  its  classical  period  ?  How  long  is  it  since  it 
ceased  to  be  a  spoken  language  ?  What  took  the  Romans 
into  the  countries  now  called  France,  Spain,  Portugal  ? 
What  sign  of  Eoman  conquest  was  left  in  the  languages 
of  these  countries  ? 


22 


STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WOkDS 


IV.  Illustrations  of  the  fact  that  words  may  look  alike  and 
yet  be  derived  from  different  roots,  or  at  least  from 
different  branches  of  one  original  root.  (The  words 
of  this  list  are  to  be  studied  from  Webster's  Interna- 
tional Dictionary;  distinguish  those  which,  though 
referred  to  separate  derivations,  have  a  common  origin 
easily  traced.) 


admiral,  admirable. 

alder,  elder,  alderman. 

annual,  annular. 

apparel,  apparent. 

arsenal,  arsenic. 

ash,  the  tree;  ashes. 

ball,  social  dance  ;  ball,  a  round 
object. 

bank,  as  noun  and  verb,  with 
all  its  meanings. 

bill,  of  a  bird;  bill,  a  declara- 
tion in  writing. 

close,  as  noun,  adjective,  verb. 


date,  fruit;  date,  time. 
dock,  three  uses,  as  noun. 
ear,  two  distinct  derivations. 
fret,  to  tease  ;  fret,  to  ornament, 
gloss,  polish;   gloss,  comment 

tary. 
grate,  parallel  bars;  grate,  to 

sound  harshly. 
idea,  idiot. 

jet,  of  water;  jet,  ornament. 
pile,  a  stake;  pile,  a  heap. 
ring,  a  sound;  ring,  a  circle. 
scale,  in  all  meanings. 


V.   Illustrations   of  the    fact   that  words    may   look    unlike 
but  have  a  common   root.      (Study   each   word   from 


Webster.) 

amateur,  amiable, 
capable,  deceive, 
cemetery,  comedy,  quiet, 
discern,  decree,  critic. 
ignore,  agnostic, 
fact,  deficient,  fashion, 
double,  ply. 


money,  mint, 
rival,  river, 
pathos,  passion, 
preach,  predicate, 
star,  street, 
vision,  envy, 
ticket,  etiquette. 


Future  chapters  will  discuss  how  words  from  the  same 
root  come  to  vary  either  in  spelling  or  in  meaning. 


CHAPTER   II 
ORIGIN  AND  GROWTH   OF  ENGLISH 

How  Language  changes.  —  Language,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  a  living  thing.  Its  growth  and  change  come  about 
through  daily  use  by  living  people  as  they  grow  and 
change.  So  we  must  study  the  origin  and  growth  of  the 
people  that  use  a  language,  in  order  to  get  at  the  facts  of 
the  life  of  that  language. 

Period  of  Greatest  Change.  —  This  is  especially  true,  as 
was  seen  in  the  last  chapter,  of  the  earlier  periods  of  a 
language,  before  its  words  become  fixed  in  a  book  litera- 
ture,—  while  they  are  simply  passing  from  mouth  to 
mouth,  and,  if  written  at  all,  are  of  very  rude  and  uncer- 
tain spelling.  Like  a  man,  a  language  changes  more  in 
its  youth.  You  hardly  recognize  the  boy  of  six  in  the 
youth  of  sixteen,  but  the  man  of  thirty-six  will  not  be 
very  different  at  forty-six. 

How  a  Language  travels.  —  We  have  seen  that  our  Eng- 
lish tongue  comes  of  the  Teutonic  or  Germanic  branch 
of  the  Indo-European  family.  But  a  language  does  not 
travel  in  books,  to  be  adopted  by  a  foreign  nation ;  the 
people  speaking  it  must  first  carry  it  over.  How  did  a 
Germanic  language  reach  England,  and  become  England's 
language  ? 

Caesar  had  gone  to  Britain  as  well  as  to  Gaul.  The 
language   of   France  (ancient   Gaul)  is  a  Romance   lan- 

23 


24  STUDY   OF  ENGLISH   WORDS 

guage:  why  did  not  England  receive  a  form  of  the  old 
Roman  language  from  the  Roman  soldiers,  as  did  France 
and  Spain  and  Portugal  ? 

Or  if  the  island  rejected  the  Latin,  why  did  she  not 
preserve  her  native  Celtic  ?  Who  were  the  conquering 
Anglo-Saxons  that  brought  in  and  established  their  Ger- 
manic speech? 

Influence  of  Geographical  Position.  —  One  reason  why 
the  Romans  never  established  their  rule  so  fully  in  Britain 
as  in  Gaul  is  that  Britain  was  an  island,  which  they  could 
reach  only  by  crossing  a  rough  channel  in  their  small 
boats.  From  this  difficulty  of  transporting  soldiers,  and 
of  getting  prompt  reports  of  native  uprisings,  as  well  as 
from  a  variety  of  causes  lying  in  the  nature  and  habits  of 
the  barbarians  themselves,  the  Romans  always  had  great 
trouble  in  keeping  track  of  the  constant  rebellions  among 
these  Britons  and  quelling  them.  And,  though  Caesar  had 
crossed  as  early  as  65  B.C.,  we  find  the  Romans  of  the  fifth 
century  a.d.  abandoning  the  island  and  withdrawing  their 
legions. 

Traces  in  English  of  the  Roman  Invasion.  —  Of  course  the 
Romans  had  left  some  trace  of  their  language,  but  most  of 
such  words  as  had  really  become  part  of  the  island  speech 
were  names  of  new  things  introduced  by  the  Romans,  for 
which,  of  course,  there  was  no  native  word.  These  were 
not  many,  but  we  still  have  some  of  them  in  slightly 
changed  form.  Thus  we  say  street^  as  they  said  street^ 
—  from  the  Roman's  strata  via^  'paved  way.'  Mil  they 
took  from  the  Latin  measure,  milia  passuum^  '  thousand 
paces,'  and  we  write  mile.  To  this  period  belong  also 
the  endings,  -caster^  -cester^  or  -chester  (Latin  castra, 
'camp'),  and  perhaps  -coin  (Latin  colonia,  'colony'). 
So  we  still  have  Lancaster,  Worcester,  Winchester,  Lincoln, 


ORIGIN   AND   GROWTH   OF   ENGLISH  25 

The  Celtic  Element.  —  The  examination  of  this  element 
of  our  language  is  still  so  far  from  complete  that  few 
statements  about  it  can  be  made  with  certainty.  The 
most  important  Celtic  words  are  place-names,  especially 
those  of  Scotland  and  Ireland  :  Aberdeen^  Aberfeldie  (aher, 
'  mouth ')  ;  Dunhar^  Dundee  (dun^  a  '  protected  place  ')  ; 
Kilkermy  (kilU  '  church ') ;  and  a  few  common  words  bor- 
rowed from  Irish  and  Scotch  :  bog^  erag^  whiskey. 

Arrival  of  the  German  Tribes.  —  As  soon  as  the  Romans 
left  Britain,  some  Teutonic  tribes  from  the  lowlands  lying 
between  the  Baltic  Sea  and  the  lower  part  of  the  Elbe 
pushed  in,  bringing  with  them  their  own  vocabulary  of 
about  two  thousand  words,  including  a  few  words  of  Latin 
origin  {chalky  Saturday^  derived  through  the  contact  of 
their  ancestors  with  the  Romans.  With  the  exception  of 
the  few  Latin  and  Celtic  words  referred  to  above,  the 
native  speech  was  displaced  by  the  languages  of  these 
conquering  Teutons,  and  these  soon  began  to  be  fused 
and  to  become  the  language  of  the  island.  The  Romans, 
it  will  be  remembered,  went  away  in  the  fifth  century, 
and  by  600  a.d.  the  three  tribes  —  Angles,  Saxons,  Jutes 
—  had  taken  by  force  a  large  part  of  the  island,  begin- 
ning, of  course,  with  the  edge  nearest  the  continent.  We 
have  now  shown  that  there  were  three  languages  possible 
for  Britain,  —  a  native  Celtic,  a  for;n  of  the  finished  and 
alegant  Latin  language,  some  combination  of  the  rough 
dialects  of  the  Germanic  conquerors,  and  that  the  tongue 
actually  adopted  was  Germanic.  We  may  now  look  at  the 
formation  of  this  Anglo-Saxon  parent  of  our  English. 

Angles,  Saxons,  Jutes.  — The  probable  date  of  the  Sax- 
ons' first  entrance  into  Britain  is  the  year  449.  In  the 
sixth  century,  there  were  seven  (some  say,  eight)  distinct 
kingdoms,  called  the  Heptarchy,  from  the  Greek  words 


26  STUDY  OF   ENGLISH    WORDS 

for  'seven  kingdoms.'  Of  these,  the  Jutes  had  Kent;  the 
Saxons  had  Sussex  (South-Saxons),  Wessex  (West-Sax- 
ons), and  Essex  (East-Saxons);   the  Angles  had  the  rest. 

Of  these  three  tribes,  the  Jutes  were  fewest  and  weak- 
est. In  the  tenth  century,  when  all  the  tribes  were  united 
enough  to  give  a  common  name  to  the  island,  the  Angles, 
having  the  most  land,  named  it  England  (Angle-land),  and 
the  tongue  English.  Up  to  1100,  however,  the  language 
is  now  generally  termed  Old  English  or  Anglo-Saxon. 

Ecclesiastical  Latin.  —  We  have  already  spoken  of  two 
sets  of  words  foreign  to  the  German  tribes,  but  after- 
wards incorporated  into  Anglo-Saxon,  the  one  taken  from 
the  Romans  who  went  away  in  the  fifth  century,  the  other 
from  the  native  Celtic  tongue.  A  second  set  of  Latin 
words  was  introduced  when,  in  597,  a  band  of  Christian 
missionaries  came  over  from  Rome  to  convert  to  Chris- 
tianity the  heathen  Anglo-Saxon  tribes.  These  mission- 
aries brought  with  them  many  customs  and  conceptions 
belonging  especially  to  the  Church,  and  the  Anglo-Saxon 
received  what  is  known  as  Ecclesiastical  Latin.  The 
Church  service  itself  was  conducted  in  Latin ;  the  Latin 
element  of  this  period  includes,-  however,  not  only  many 
ecclesiastical  terms  (altar ^  bishop^  churchy  priest^  psalm)  ^ 
but  also  a  number  of  common  words,  particularly  names 
of  plants,  animals  and  foods  (lily^  pea^  plants  lobster^  trout^ 
butter^  cheese  and  others). 

Scandinavian  or  Norse.  —  In  870  the  Danes  began  to 
invade  Britain,  and  left  a  number  of  their  words.  It 
is  often  difficult  to  distinguish  the  Norse  contributions 
from  the  Saxon,  but  their  number  is  estimated  at  about 
five  hundred.  Among  them  may  be  mentioned  the  place- 
suffixes  -Jy,  and  'thorp^  '  village,'  as  in  by-laws^  Whitby^ 
Oglethorp, 


ORIGIN  AND  GROWTH  OF   ENGLISH  27 

Norman-French.  —  In  1066,  the  year  of  the  Norman  Con- 
quest, William  the  Conqueror  brought  in  a  court  using 
Norman-French ;  in  fact,  this  use  had  already  become  the 
fashion  in  the  court  of  Edward,  who  was  educated  in 
Normandy.  As  a  consequence  of  the  Norman-French 
supremacy,  a  vast  number  of  French  words  thus  gradu- 
ally crept  into  the  common  speech  of  the  people,  espe- 
cially words  for  fashionable  uses  and  manners. 

Early  English. —  In  1100,  then,  the  year  from  which  we 
date  early  English,  what  was  this  Anglo-Saxon  which  has 
grown  into  English  as  we  know  it?  It  was,  mainly,  a 
Teutonic  or  Germanic  tongue.,  made  up  from  a  fusion  of 
the  dialects  of  Angles,  Saxons,  and  Jutes.  It  had  grafted 
on  it  about  six  hundred  Latin  words,  received  at  two  dif- 
ferent times :  the  first  from  the  early  Roman  conquerors 
who  left  Britain  in  the  fifth  century ;  the  second.  Church 
Latin,  brought  in  by  Christian  missionaries  after  697. 
Again,  it  had  taken  a  few  Danish  words  from  the  invasion 
of  the  ninth  century;  and  it  had  begun  to  feel  the  influ- 
ence of  the  use  of  Norman-French  by  the  courts  of  Edward 
the  Confessor  and  William  the  Conqueror. 

A  table  of  these  grafts  upon  a  Teutonic  stem  may  sum 
up  the  matter  more  clearly:  — 

English  in  1100  was  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue,  modi- 
fied by  — 

1.  A  few  native  Celtic  proper  names. 

2.  Latin  words  for  streets,  etc.,  before  the  fifth  century. 

3.  Latin  words  of  Church  and  scholar,  after  597. 

4.  A  few  Danish  words,  ninth  century. 

6.    Norman-French  of  court  and  high  life,  after  1042. 

By  1200  every  educated  man  Avas  expected  to  know 
three  languages, —  English,  French,  and  Latin.     English 


28  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

was  the   common  speech,  French  the  language  of  polite 
life  and  literature,  Latin  the  scholar's  tongue. 

In  the  thirteenth  century,  Robert  of  Gloucester  wrote  in 
English  a  Rhymed  Chronicle  of  Britain.  Professor  Louns- 
bury  gives  us  some  lines  of  it,  put  into  modern  English  :  — 

"  For  unless  a  man  knows  French,  he  is  little  thought  of, 
But  low  men  keep  to  English  and  to  their  own  speech." 

From  1272,  when  Edward  I.  came  to  the  throne,  on  to 
the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  French  was  used  in 
public  acts. 

Influence  of  Wyclif  and  Chaucer.  —  In  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, then,  for  a  scholar  to  write  in  English  took  a  degree 
of  courage  which  may  easily  be  underrated  now.  But  this 
courage  on  the  part  of  two  great  writers  did  much  to  shape 
the  first  literary  English. 

In  spite  of  the  scorn  of  scholars  who  lacked  insight  into 
the  vast  possibilities  of  English,  and  still  used  French  and 
Latin,  Wyclif  and  Chaucer  came  forward  as  the  fathers 
of  English  literature.  Wyclif  finished  his  English  trans- 
lation of  the  Scriptures  in  1380,  and  it  is  to  him  that  we 
owe  much  of  the  simplicity  and  force  and  peculiar  beauty 
of  later  translations  of  the  Bible. 

What  Wyclif  did  for  the  language  and  literature  of  re- 
ligion, Chaucer  did  for  poetry  and  letters.  Before  this,  no 
one  had  dreamed  of  the  power  and  beauty  latent  in  the  Eng- 
lish language,  and  for  one  hundred  years  after  their  death 
their  work  went  unappreciated.  Even  in  1623,  two  centu- 
ries and  a  quarter  after  Chaucer's  death,  Lord  Bacon  turned 
his  English  works  into  Latin,  that  they  might  be  "pre- 
served " !  For  he  thought  of  Latin  as  the  universal  and  per- 
manent language  of  learning,  while  English  was  a  humble 
speech  for  the  less  learned,  and  might  die  cut  altogether. 


ORIGIN   AND   GROWTH   OF   ENGLISH  29 

Differences  between  Early  and  Modern  English.  —  The 
English  of  Bacon  and  Shakespeare,  though  more  modern 
than  that  of  Wyclif  and  Chaucer,  is  still  not  our  English. 
Professor  Whitney  says:  "If  we  were  to  hear  Shakespeare 
read  aloud  a  scene  from  one  of  his  works,  it  would  be  in 
no  small  part  unintelligible,  by  reason  especially  of  the 
great  difference  between  his  pronunciation  and  ours." 

To  sum  up :  the  English  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  period, 
although  our  own  English  is  descended  from  it,  differs  in 
certain  respects  from  our  modern  speech  as  much  as  Latin, 
for  instance,  from  Spanish.  The  written  English  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  except  for  the  chaotic  spelling,  is  for 
the  most  part  intelligible  to  us,  though  we  might  not  be 
able  to  understand  it  as  then  spoken. 

Spelling.  —  Johnson's  Dictionary,  published  in  1765,  did 
much  to  fix  the  spelling  of  English,  and  is  by  many  held 
responsible  for  some  of  the  lack  of  law  or  reason  therein 
discoverable.  Spelling  ought  to  show  the  pronunciation 
of  words,  and  if  possible,  at  the  same  time,  the  derivation, 
while  much  of  our  spelling  shows  neither. 

Other  Elements  in  English.  —  We  have  now  shown,  in 
a  general  way,  the  growth  of  English  from  Anglo-Saxon, 
influenced  at  various  stages  by  Celtic  and  Danish,  but 
far  more  seriously  by  Latin  and  French. 

There  are  many  other  languages  to  which  we  owe 
much  :  Spanish  and  Italian  ;  Modern  German  ;  Hebrew, 
Persian,  Arabic,  Turkish  ;  and  even  the  American  Indian. 

For  instance,  English  scholars  went  to  Italy,  especially 
in  the  period  of  the  Renaissance,  and  their  writings  show 
strong  traces  of  Italian  influence  ;  words  were  borrowed 
especially  for  the  fine  arts;  e.g.,  canto^  studio^  concert. 

Political  dealings  with  Spain,  especially  during  the 
reigns  of  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  introduced  Spanish  words; 


30 


STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 


e.g.,  don^  cigar.  The  suffix  -ese  (as  in  Chinese^  Maltese) 
was  taken  from  the  Spaniards,  though  modified  by  the 
Italian  spelling. 

The  Reformation  brought  England  and  the  Netherlands 
into  contact,  and  many  Dutch  words,  especially  for  sea- 
faring use,  were  anglicized;  e.g.,  schooner^  sloop. 

Biblical  literature  uses  a  few  English  words  direct  from 
the  Hebrew,  as  amen.  Scholars  use  German  derivatives 
for  the  sciences,  etc.  Travelers  have  brought  into  Eng- 
lish the  names  of  Oriental  importations ;  e.g.,  skawl^ 
chintz^  indigo;  and  Americans  have  borrowed  such  native 
Indian  words  as  canoe.,  tobacco. 


The  words  in  the 

following  list 

may  be  looked  up  by 

the  student,  and  grouped  under  the  divisions 

just  sug- 

gested :  — 

cherub 

maize 

quartz 

boor 

sloop 

alligator 

yacht 

piano-forte 

bazaar 

rum 

zinc 

nabob 

calico 

atlas 

arsenal 

admiral 

palaver 

emerald 

jubilee 

chemistry 

alchemy 

rice 

waltz 

alcove 

sugar 

seraph 

rupee 

jungle 

almanac 

sofa 

schooner 

alcohol 

potato 

skipper 

sherbet 

volcano 

cargo 

cheese 

syrup 

zero 

turban 

mosquito 

dimity 

muslin 

zenith 

cartoon 

nickel 

folio 

studio 

assassin 

caravan 

orange 

caste 

Sabbath 

talisman 

Greek  and  Latin  Words  in  English.  —  Scholars  trained 
specially  in  the  classics  are  responsible  for  a  special  group 
of  words.  A  large  element  of  Greek  and  Latin  words  has 
come,  not  by  slow  process  of  change  and  adoption,  but  by 
a  recent  direct  borrowing;  e.g.,  the  following  words  in 
common  use  are  unchanged  even  in  form  :   deficit^  maxi- 


ORIGIN  AND   GROWTH   OF   ENGLISH  31^ 

mum^  pathos^  stimulus^  apex^  alumnus^  animus^  syllabus^  cli- 
max^ delta.  Scholars,  and  especially  scientists,  have  also 
used  Greek  and  Latin  terms  for  their  classifications  and  in- 
ventions, until  it  is  almost  impossible  to  study  the  natural 
sciences  intelligently  without  a  knowledge  of  Greek  and 
Latin  roots  and  endings. 

Technical  Terms.  —  Some  of  these  terms  are  still  strictly 
technical,  such  as  the  nanies  of  botanical  families.  But 
many  words  from  the  Greek  have  been  brought  into  our 
everyday  usage,  as  the  practical  discoveries,  for  instance 
of  electricity,  have  needed  common  names. 

Of  two  classes  of  Greek  words,  then, — names  of  sciences 
and  names  of  new  inventions, —  we  can  find  plenty  of 
examples. 

Sciences 

Geo-graphy,  earth-writhig,  hence  earth  description, 
Geo-logy,  earth-word,  hence  earth-study. 
Theo-logy,  God-wordy  hence  study  of  God. 

Inventions 

Tele-scope,  at-a-distance  sight.  Phono-graph,  sound-writing. 

Tele-phone,  at-a-distance  sound.         Auto-graph,  self-writing. 
Tele-graph,  at-a-distance  writing.       Photo-graph,  light-writing. 

A  Simpler  Classification,  —  It  is  confusing  to  think  of 
our  language  as  enfolding  so  many  alien  elements.  For 
general  purposes,  a  simple  twofold  classification  is  used :  — 

Elements  of  the      f  1.    Latin :  words  of  classical  origin. 
English  Language.  [  2.    Saxon ;  native  Teutonic  words. 

A  style  is  often  described  as  containing  a  large  propor- 
tion of  Latin  words,  or  as  being  ^'almost  pure  Saxon." 


32  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

The  characteristic  marks  of  these  two  classes  with 
regard  to  their  effect  upon  style,  we  shall  study  in  a 
future  chapter.  But  first  let  us  examine  more  exactly 
the  stems,  suffixes,  and  prefixes  used  in  Greek,  Latin, 
French,  and  Saxon  derivatives. 

QUESTIONS  ON   CHAPTER  II 

1.  What  is  the  connection  between  the  study  of  a  people 
and  the  study  of  a  language  ? 

2.  At  what  period  does  a  language  change  most  rapidly? 

3.  To  what  branch  of  the  Indo-European  family  does  the 
English  language  belong? 

4.  How  did  it  happen  not  to  be  of  the  Latin  branch  ? 

5.  Why  did  the  K/Omans  never  gain  foothold  in  Britain  as 
in  Gaul? 

6.  In  what  century  did  the  Eomans  leave  Britain  ? 

7.  What  class  of  Latin  words  belongs  to  this  period  ? 

8.  Have  we  kept  any  native  Celtic  words  ? 

9.  Who  conquered  Britain  in  the  sixth  century  ? 

10.  What  is  the  relative  position  of  the  three  settlements  ? 
Draw  the  outline  map. 

11.  What  is  the  date  of  the  Saxons'  coming? 

12.  What  was  the  Heptarchy? 

13.  When  and  how  was  England  so  named  ? 

14.  What  was  the  language  called,  up  to  1100  ? 

15.  What  class  of  words  was  brought  in  by  the  Eoman  mis- 
sionaries ?     When  ? 

16.  In  what  century  did  the  Danes  leave  a  trace  of  their 
language  ? 

17.  When  and  how  was  Norman-French  introduced  ? 

18.  Give  a  short  review  of  the  elements  of  the  English  of 
1100. 

19.  Put  this  in  tabular  form. 

20.  In  1200  what  three  languages  were  in  use  in  England  ? 


ORIGIN   AND   GROWTH   OF   ENGLISH  33 

21.  What  position  did  French  hold  in  the  thirteenth  century? 

22.  What  two  great  writers  of  English  lived  in  the  four- 
teenth century  ? 

23.  What  was  the  special  value  of  the  work  of  each  ? 

24.  How  did  Lord  Bacon  regard  English  ? 

25.  Was  Shakespeare^s  English  modern  ? 

26.  Did  it  differ  from  ours  more  as  spoken  or  as  written  ? 

27.  When    did    the   present    spelling    of    English   become 
established  ? 

28.  In  what  ways  is  English  spelling  bad  ? 

29.  What  are  some  of  the  sources,  not  before  mentioned,  of 
English  words  ?     Illustrate. 

30.  How  have  English  scholars  and  scientists  used  Greek 
and  Latin  in  their  treatises  ? 

31.  What  special  classes  of  words  are  borrowed  directly 
from  Greek? 

32.  Give  illustrations. 

33.  What   twofold   classification   of   English   words    (with 
regard  to  derivation)  is  commonly  used? 


TOPICS   IN   CONNECTION   WITH   CHAPTER  H 

[For  Review  or  Advanced  Work] 

I.   The  Romans  in  Britain. 

Write  a  short  essay ;    getting  facts  from   Caesar,  from 
Histories  of   England   or   Rome,  and  from  any  ency- 
clopedia. 
II.   Names  of  English  towns  in  -caster,  -cester,  -Chester. 

Look  these  up  on  a  large  map,  or  in  a  list  of  geographical 
names. 

III.  Short  accounts  of  the  writings  of  Wyclif  and  Chaucer, 

as  given  in  any  standard  English  Literature  or  ency- 
clopedia. 

IV.  Johnson's  Dictionary  ;  consult  the  encyclopedia. 
V.    Additional  Greek  names  for  sciences  or  inventions. 

STU.   ENG.  words 3 


CHAPTER  III 

GREEK,  LATIN,  AND   FRENCH  ELEMENTS   IN  ENGLISH 
SPECIALLY   CONSIDERED 

Greek,  Latin,  and  French  Derivatives.  —  We  may  now 

study  somewhat  more  in  detail  the  .three  most  important 
classes  of  foreign  elements  in  our  English,  with  a  view  to 
learning  how  to  distinguish  Greek,  Latin,  and  French 
derivatives,  as  contrasted  with  one  another  and  with  Saxon 
words. 

Historically,  as  we  have  seen  in  Chapter  II,  most  of 
our  French  w^ords  were  descended  from  the  Latin,  and 
many  of  our  Latin  words  were  borrowed  from  the  Greek; 
but  in  each  case  the  forms  have  been  so  plainly  modified 
by  the  tongues  that  have  adopted  them,  that  they  have  to 
be  classed  with  the  last  language  which  they  had  reached 
when  we  took  them. 

Accordingly,  in  this  chapter  we  shall  class  — 

1.  As  Greek  Derivatives,  those  words  which  have  been 

taken  directly  from  the  Greek  into  our  English  (for 
the  most  part  this  direct  borrowing  has  been  recent). 

2.  As  Latin  Derivatives  (see  Chapter  II),  those  words 
that  came  — 

From  the  Roman  occupation  of  Britain; 

mainly  military  words. 
From  Augustine  and  his  successors; 

mainly  church  words. 

34 


GREEK,   LATIN,   AND    FRENCH    ELEMENTS  35 

From  the  monks  and  scholars  of  the  Middle  Ages; 
mainly  scholastic  words. 

From  modern  scholars; 

words  for  the  most  various  purposes. 
3.    As  French  Derivatives,  — 

Norman-French  words,  brought  in  from  the  beginning 
of  the  reign  of  Edward  the  Confessor  (who  was 
educated  at  the  Norman  court)  to  the  loss  of  Nor- 
mandy by  King  John  (1042-1204). 

Parisian  French;  both  the  words  introduced  by  the 
French  scholars  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries,  and  those  of  modern  adoption. 

Greek  Derivatives.  —  The  Greek  words  are  compara- 
tively easy  to  distinguish,  and  the  stems  in  common  use 
are  so  few  as  to  be  easily  learned :  — 

1.    The  five  familiar   endings  used  in  naming  Sciences 
(compare  end  of  Chapter  II). 

•(o)logy,  knowledge  {log-,  ^word/  ^speech'). 

•{p)nomy,  science  (nom-,  *  law '). 

'{p)graphy,  description  {graph-,  ^  write'). 

'{o)metry,  measurement  {metr-,  ^measure'). 

-ic,  -ics  (suffix,  from  the  feminine  adjective  ending  -iMy  used 
by  the  Greeks  with  the  noun,  techn^,  *art' :  e.g.,  rhetor  ike  techne, 
*  rhetorical  art,^  shortened  into  our  rhetoric;  or  with  episteme, 
^  science ' :  e.g.,  mathematiM  episteme,  '  mathematical  science ' ; 
in  this  case  we  have  added  s  to  the  shortened  form,  making 
mathematics). 

The  endings  -sophy  and  -logy^  when  combined  with 
the  stem  pMU  are  really  not,  as  in  this  list  of  ejidings, 
the  less  important,  but  the  chief  part  of  the  compound : 
philosophy  means  '  love  of  wisdom ' ;  philo-logy^  '  love  of 
words.' 


36  ..  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

2.    The  more   common  forms  of  stems  to  which   one  or 
more  of  these  endings  have  been  added :  — 
archae,  arcliai,  ancient.  chron,  time. 

aster,  astr,  star.  entom,  insect. 

bij  life.  ge,  earth. 

oiko,  house;  cf.  economy,  once  oeconomy, 
opt,  sight.  techn,  art. 

phon,  sound.  the,  God. 

physi,  nature.  zo,  animal. 

With  the  knowledge  of  a  few  more  stems,  we  shall  be  able 
to  form  the  commoner  Greek  derivatives,  and  to  recognize 
such  derivatives  as  Greek  whenever  we  meet  them :  — 

1.  arch,  archy,  first  (in  the  sense  of  rule).  In  archaic, 
archaeology,  this  stem  means  first  in  the  sense  of  ancient. 

2.  crat,  cracy,  power. 

Combine  one,  or  one  pair,  of  these  endings  with  ej**ch 
of  the  following  :  — 

mon,  alone.  hier,  priestly.  pluto,  rich. 

auto,  self.  hept,  seven.  aristo,  best. 

olig,  few.  demo,  people.  patri,  father. 

an,  without ;  discussed  under  Prefixes,  Chapter  IV. 

One  more  short,  miscellaneous  list:  — 

micro,  little. 

cycl,  circle.  Compare  en-cyclo- 
pedia, ^in-a-circle  (all-around) 
instruction.' 

pan,  all.  Compare  pan-orama, 
^  a  view  in  every  direction.' 

mim,  mimic. 

petr,  stone.     Compare  petrify. 

din,  lean. 

meter,  same  as  -metry  above. 

seep  (skep),  scop,  sight. 


tele,  at  a  distance. 

electr,  amber,  the  substance  in 

which  electricity  was   first 

observed. 
baro,   weight.       A    barometer 

measures     the     weight     or 

pressure  of  the  atmosphere. 
crit,    distinguish.        Compare 

critic,  criterion, 
dynam,  force. 
polit,  city. 


GREEK,   LATIN,  AND   FRENCH   ELEMENTS 


37 


The  learning  of  these  stems  by  much  and  varied  prac- 
tice in  forming  and  recognizing  words,  rather  than  by 
memorizing  stems,  is  earnestly  recommended. 

Latin  Derivatives.  —  The  Latin  derivatives  are  far 
more  numerous  than  the  Greek.  Practically,  they 
are  almost  always  to  be  recognized  by  the  Latin  pre- 
fixes and  suffixes,  as  the  simple  stems  are  not  often 
used.  (See  lists  of  prefixes  and  suffixes  in  the  next 
chapter.) 

Let  the  student  carefully  examine  the  stems  given 
below,  and  then  analyze  the  subjoined  derivatives  with 
reference  to  the  use  of  these  stems,  both  in  form  and 
meaning. 


ag,  ig,  act,  drive,  do. 
alt,  high. 
anim,  mind. 
ann,  year. 
aper,  apr,  apert, 

open. 
apt,  fit. 
art,  art. 
aud,  hear. 
aur,  gold. 
brev,  short. 
cad,  cid,  cas,  fall. 
cant,  sing. 
capit,  head. 
cap,  dp,  capt,  take. 
cam,  flesh. 
ced,  cess,  move, 

yield. 
celer,  quick. 
cent,  hundred. 


cing,   cinct,   sur- 
round, gird. 

cor,  cord,  heart. 

coron,  crown. 

corpus,  corpor, 
body. 

cred,  believe. 

cur,  care. 

curr,  run. 

dat,  dit,  give. 

dent,  tooth. 

di,  day. 

diet,  speak. 

dign,  worthy. 

dom,  home. 

domin,  master. 

dorm,  sleep. 

due,  duct,  lead. 

equ,  equal. 

fa,  fat,  say. 


fac,  face. 

fac,  fie,  fact,  feet, 

make,  do. 
felic,  happy. 
fer,  bear. 

fess,  acknowledge. 
Jid,  faith. 
Jin,  end. 
form,  shape. 
fort,  strong. 
frang,  frag,  fract, 

break. 
fund,  fus,  melt. 
genus,    gener,   gen, 

kind. 
gest,  carry. 
grad,    gred,    gress, 

step. 
gran,  grain. 
grand,  great. 


38 


STUDY   OF  ENGLISH   WORDS 


gratf  favor,  thanks. 

hor,  hour. 

horr,  shudder. 

hospit,  guest. 

ject,  cast. 

judic,  judge. 

junct,  joined. 

jm^,  law. 

latj  carry. 

leg,  send. 

leg,  lig,  led,  gather, 

choose,  read. 
liber,  free. 
lin,  flax, 
lingu,  tongue. 
liter,  letter. 
loc,  place. 
loqu,  locut,   speak. 
hid,  lus,  play. 
magn,  large. 
major,  larger,  older. 
man,  mans,  remain, 

dwell. 
manu,  man,  hand. 
mar,  sea. 
mater,  matr, 

mother. 
medi,  middle. 
medic,  heal. 
mens,  measure. 
ment,  mind. 
mere,  pay. 
merg,  mers,  mingle, 

dip. 
migr,  remove. 


mir,  wonder. 
mitt,  miss,  send. 
mon,  advise. 
mort,  death. 
mot,  move. 
mult,  many. 
mu7i,  fortify. 
7iat,  born. 
nav,  ship. 
not,  known. 
numer,  number. 
nunci,  announce. 
ocid,  eye. 
par,  equal. 
par,  get  ready. 
part,  partit,  divide. 
pass,  step. 
pat,  pass,  suffer. 
past,  feed. 
pater,  patr,  father. 
ped,  foot. 
pell,  puis,  drive. 
pen,  repent. 
pen,  aljiKTst. 
pend,  hang,  weigh. 
pet,  petit,  ask. 
pig,  pict,  paint. 
plac,  please. 
pie,  plet,  fill. 
plen,  full. 
plic,  fold. 
plum,  feather. 
plumb,  lead. 
pon,  posit,  place. 
port,  carry. 


port,  gate. 

pos,  stop,  place. 

pot,  drink. 

potent,  powerful. 

prehend,  prehens, 
seize. 

prim,  first. 

punct,  point. 

quadr,  four. 

quant,  how  much, 

quer,  quir,  ask. 

quer,  complain. 

quiesc,  quiet,  quiet 

radi,  ray. 

rap,  rapt,  snatch. 

rat,  reason. 

reg,  rect,  rule. 

7^id,  ris,  laugh. 

riv,  brook. 

rog,  rogat,  ask. 

rupt,  broken. 

sacr,  holy. 

sal,  salt. 

sal,  sil,  suit,  leap. 

sanct,  holy,  estab- 
lished. 

sat,  sa,  enough. 

schol,  school. 

sci,  know. 

scrib,  script,  write. 

sec,  sect,  cut. 

sen,  old. 

sent,  sens,  feel. 

sequ,  secut,  follow. 

serv,  keep,  serve. 


GREEK,   LATIN,    AND   FRENCH    ELEMENTS 


39 


sisty  stand. 

solj  alone. 

sol,  accustomed. 

son,  sound. 

soii,  lot. 

spic,  speet,  sped, 
see. 

spir,  breathe. 

sta7it,  standing. 

stell,  star. 

string,  strict,  bind. 

stru,  struct,   build. 

sui,  self. 

suad,  suas,  per- 
suade. 


sum,  sumpt,  take. 
surg,  S2irrect,  rise. 
tang,  ting,  tact, 

touch. 
teg,  tect,  cover. 
temper,  moderate. 
temper,  time. 
tend,  tent,  tens, 

stretch. 
test,  witness. 
tors,  tort,  twist. 
tract,  draw. 
trit,  rub. 

trud,  trus,  thrust. 
un,  one. 


und,  wave. 
ut,  us,  use. 
vad,  vas,  go. 
val,  be  strong. 
ven,  vent,  come. 
vert,  vers,  turn. 
vi,  force. 

vine,  vict,  conquer. 
vid,  vis,  see. 
viv,  victu,  live. 
voc,  call. 
volv,  volut,  roll. 
vot,  vow. 


Latin  Derivatives 


annual 

facial     . 

degeneracy 

equinox 

animadversion 

judicial 

delegate 

medicine 

emigration 

abbreviate 

carnal 

jurisdiction 

fusible 

act 

capital 

relate 

aggrandize* 

celerity 

audible 

permanent 

fracture 

agent 

fortitude 

medieval 

coroner 

perfect 

horror 

linguistic 

confidence 

April 

horoscope 

majority 

admirable 

corporal 

maternal 

diction 

immense, 

accident 

paternal 

artist 

hospitable 

casual 

ges'ture 

magnitude 

cordial 

abject 

gratitude 

granary 

precinct 

reduce 

domestic 

manual 

definite 

legible 

date 

mental 

accurate 

credible 

dormant 

concede 

fable 

dental 

felicity 

process 

profession 

diurnal 

location 

dignity 

40 


STUDY   OF   BN6IJSH    WORDS 


V 


domination 

petition 

persuade 

interrogation 

linen 

picture 

distract     . 

enraptured 

admonition 

complacent 

science 

votive 

immortal 

application 

deride 

notify 

remission 

plumbing 

sacrifice 

potable 

remittance 

apposition 

rational 

involved 

capture 

export 

scribe 

construe 

literature 

portal 

partition 

stringent 

century 

omnipotent 

preparation 

temporize 

recant 

comprehend 

section 

temperate 

gradation 

primeval 

rapacity 

tense 

punctual 

quadrant 

pervasive 

tent 

conjunction 

quantity 

victory 

extort 

aptitude 

formation 

convenient 

specimen 

altitude 

liberty 

insurgent 

obtrude 

prelude 

mercenary 

corruption 

consumption 

loquacious 

submerge 

obsolete 

revive 

auriferous 

query 

violent 

union 

maritime 

querulous 

resist 

tact 

compass 

requiem 

multitude 

undulate 

compassion 

rector 

expect 

abuse 

compulsion 

saline 

sentimental 

trite 

expel 

pronunciation 

spiral 

resurrection 

pendulum 

innumerable 

service 

equivalent 

peninsula 

motive 

consequence 

protect 

current 

insult 

instant 

convert 

oculist 

sanctify 

solitary 

senior 

navigable 

satisfy 

constellation 

revision 

native 

ammunition 

suicide 

contest 

impede 

replenish 

assort 

vocation 

pastor 

scholar 

sonorous 

victuals 

disparage 

radiate 

rivulet 

penitent 

infinite 

lecture 

brevity 

general 

secure 

radius 

numeration 

generous 

'description 

revolve 

utility 

generic 

GREEK,  LATIN,   AND   FRENCH   ELEMENTS 


41 


Greek  Derivatives 


microscope 

telepathy 

pantomime 

democracy 

political 

electricity 

Peter 

hierarch 

Indianapolis 

criticise 

aristocrat 

monarch 

cyclometer 

barometer 

patriarch 

autocrat 

dynamics 

clinic 

plutocracy 

oligarchy 

3.  French  Derivatives.  —  To  draw  an  exact  line  between 
French  and  Latin  Derivatives  is  impossible,  for  we  must 
remember  that  French  is  one  of  the  later  forms  of  Latin. 
In  the  English  language  there  are  four  classes  of  stems 
borrowed  directly  from  the  Latin:  — 

1.  Latin  words  incorporated  in  the  Saxons'  speech  be- 
fore they  left  Germany. 

2.  Latin  words  left  in  the  British  speech  by  the  Latin 
occupation. 

3.  Latin  words  taken  from  the  Ecclesiastical  vocabu- 
lary of  Rome. 

4.  Latin  words  introduced  by  the  Revival  of  Learning 
in  the  sixteenth  century. 

But  these  bear  a  small  proportion  in  point  of  number  to 
the  immense  Latin  element  introduced  into  English  through 
French.  Those  only  are  distinguished  as  French  deriva- 
tives which  underwent  marked  changes  in  the  French  use. 

Two  classes  of  such  changes  in  spelling  were  spoken  of 
in  Chapter  I,  namely,  the  shortening  process,  by  which 
whole  syllables  may  be  altogether  dropped ;  and  the 
euphonic  process,  by  which  a  harsh  combination  of  con- 
sonants is  broken  up  by  division  into  parts  of  two  syl- 
lables. Both  these  changes  were  illustrated  by  the  Latin 
word  studium^  written  in  Old  French  estude^  in  Modern 
French  and  English  etude;  compare  the  parallel  deriva- 
tive unmodified  by  the  French,  study. 


42  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

Changes  due  to  the  Norman  Conquest.  —  The  influence 
of  French  upon  English  was,  of  course,  most  marked  at 
the  time  of  the  Norman  Conqu^est,  —  including,  also,  to 
speak  more  accurately,  the  period  just  before  the  Con- 
quest,—  in  all,  from  1042  to  1204  (from  the  reign  of 
Edward  to  John's  loss  of  the  province  of  Normandy). 

It  was  shown  in  four  ways  :  — 

1.  The  introduction  of  a  vast  number  of  Norman-French 
words. 

2.  A  corresponding  loss  of  a  large  number  of  old  Anglo- 
Saxon  words. 

3.  The  introduction  of  new  stems,  which,  with  Anglo- 
Saxon  prefixes  or  suffixes,  formed  many  hybrids. 

4.  The  introduction  of  new  habits  or  tendencies  of 
language  growth. 

Borrowing.  —  The  marked  habit  which  distinguishes 
English  from  other  Teutonic  languages  —  namely,  readi- 
ness to  borrow  words  instead  of  coining  them  from  its 
own  resources  —  has  been  traced  to  the  Norman  influence. 
The  Anglo-Saxons  found  it  an  advantage  to  have  both 
native  and  foreign  words, —  Saxon  and  Norman,  —  a  two- 
fold treasury  ;  and  the  English  have  developed  this  scheme 
to  its  present  proportions. 

Introduction  of  New  Words.  —  As  to  the  new  words 
actually  brought  into  the  language  by  the  Norman  Con- 
quest, though  not  so  numerous  as  the  FrencU  words 
introduced  in  the  fourteenth  century,  they  are  impor- 
tant for  our  study,  because  they  came  in  at  the  earlier 
formative  period  and  became  part  of  the  very  foundation 
of  the  English  language.  Within  the  years  which  we 
have  assigned  to  the  Norman  Period  (1042-1204)  are 
counted  about  five  hundred  of  these  borrowed  French 
words ;  at  Chaucer's  death,  in  1400,  we  find  nearly  thirty- 


GREEK,   LATIN,  AND   FRENCH   ELEMENTS 


43 


five  hundred  French  words  in  English.  The  older  (Nor- 
man) element  is  harder  to  distinguish  from  the  Anglo-Saxon 
warp  with  which  it  is  interwoven,  because,  in  obedience  to 
the  general  principle  that  earlier  combinations  are  more 
vital,  the  sound  and  spelling  of  a  word  were  so  often  angli- 
cized ;  while  the  later  (Parisian)  French  of  the  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  centuries,  and,  in  still  greater  degree,  the 
modern  French  element,  have  more  nearly  kept  the  French 
sound  and  spelling. 

In  the  following  pairs  of  words,  the  first  is  from  the 
older,  and  the  second  from  the  later,  French  borrowing :  — 

,    chair,  chaise ;  suit,  suite ;  ticket,  etiquette. 

For-  a  more  general  view,  compare  the  two  following 
sets  of  words,  —  the  one  from  the  oldest  French  borrow- 
ings, the  other  from  the  latest;  notice  how  much  more 
English  the  first  group  looks  :  — 


aid 

case 

fade 

obey 

air 

chair 

fail 

port 

branch 

change 

feign 

price 

brief 

cherry 

lamp 

taint 

brush 

chief 

lave 

trunk 

adroit 

baronet 

chagrin 

embarrass 

apartment 

brunette 

coquette 

grimace 

apparel 

burlesque 

contretemps 

repartee 

Early  French  borrowings  may  also  differ  according  to 
the  dialects  from  which  they  came.  For  example,  we  find 
doublets  of  the  same  period,  showing  a  ch  from  the  Nor- 
man, and  a  ^-sound  from  another  dialect :  e.g.,  chase^  catch; 
chattel^  cattle. 

Marks  of  French  Derivatives.  —  A  few  general  rules  may 
now  be  given  for  recognizing  French  derivatives  :  — 


44 


STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 


1.  When  a  Latin  stem  has  one  consonant  between 
two  vowels,  the  French  derivative  shows  a  tendency  to 
drop  or  soften  this  consonant.  Consonant  sounds  in 
general  are  softened. 


Latin  Stbm 

Latin  Derivative 
IN  English 

French  Word 

French  Derivative 
IN  English 

cant 

cant 

chanter 

chant 

castel 

castle 

chateau 

chateau 

fact 

fact 

fait 

feat 

inimic 

inimical 

ennemi 

enemy 

lingu 

linguistic 

langue 

language 

prosecu  {secu 

t)        prosecute 

poursuivre 

pursue 

supplic 

supplicate 

supplier 

suppliant 

Latin  Stem  coming 

French  Derivative 

Latin  Stem 

THROUGH  Old  French 

Later  French 

IN  English  with  Latin 

INTO  English  with 

Word 

Stem  considerably 

Little  Change 

MODIFIED 

car 

car 

char,  chariot 

chariot 

fact 

faction 

fa9on 

fashion 

fragil 

fragile 

frele 

frail 

mere 

mercantile 

march  and 

merchant 
,  merchandise 

nat 

native 

naif 

naive 

particul 

particle 

parcelle 

parcel 

popul 

popular 

peuple 

people 

rati 

ration,  ratio 

raison 

reason 

reg 

regal 

royal 

royal 

vocal 

vocal 

voyelle 

vowel 

2.  Most  nouns  in  -ier^  -cher^  and  adjectives  in  -que^  are 
of  French  derivation :  as  cavalier^  sepulcher^  unique, 

3.  Most  words  beginning  with  counter^  pur^  sur,  are  of 
French  derivation  :  as  counterpoint,  purpose,  survey. 

These  three  rules  maj^  be  summed  up  in  the  general 
statement  that  most  words  in  which  Latin  stems  appear 
very  much  changed  in  spelling  may  be  classed  as  French 
derivatives. 


GREEK,   LATIN,   AND  FRENCH   ELEMENTS  45 

Norman -English  Hybrids.  —  Our  third  class  of  Norman 
elements  in  English  remains,  —  the  Norman  (originally 
Latin)  stems,  which  were  often  used  with  Anglo-Saxon 
prefixes  and  suffixes;  also,  in  compounds,  with  Anglo- 
Saxon  stems. 

Anglo-Saxon  Prefix,  French  Stem :  a-round,  he-cause,  en-throne. 
French  Stem,  Anglo-Saxon  SufB.x :  duke-dom,  false-hood,  trouble- 
some, purpose-xss,  genial-ly. 
French  and  Saxon  Compounds :       heir-loom,  scape-goat. 

We  may  close  the  French  division  of  this  chapter  by 
glancing  at  five  stems  peculiarly  French  (perhaps  carried 
into  the  French  from  Low  Latin,  and  so  not  traceable  by 
us  to  classical  Latin). 

bas,  low ;  bat,  beat ;  gross,  thicken ;  pari,  speak ;  taill,  cut  off : 
bas-relief,  battle,  debate,  engross,  parlor,  parliament,  tailor, 
entail. 

Distinguishing  Traits  of  the  Saxon  Element. — The  for- 
eign elements  in  English  have  been  given  first,  because  they 
are  more  definite  in  form  and  more  easily  distinguished. 
The  Saxon  part  of  the  language,  being  the  very  root  and 
substance  thereof,  is  harder  to  separate  and  analyze,  though 
far  more  useful  for  a  scientific  understanding  of  English. 

Saxon  stems  have  two  general  characteristics :  — 

1.  They  are  usually  short  monosyllables;  as  the  stem 
hit^  from  which  come  the  verbs  bite^  hit^  embitter;  the  nouns 
bit^  bitters;  the  adjective  bitter. 

2.  They  are  modified  (for  number,  tense,  change  in  part 
of  speech)  by  root- vowel  changes  rather  than  by  endings. 

Verb8  Nouns  Nouns  from  Adjectives 

draw,  drew ;  goose,  geese ;  broad,  breadth ; 

fall,  fell ;  man,  men ;  strong,  strength ; 

sing,  sang ;  mouse,  mice ;  deep,  depth. 


46 


STUDY   OF   ENGLISH    WORDS 


Hints  for  approximately  testing  Origin  by  Spelling 


Nativb   OB   Inherited   (A 
AND  Teutonic) 

nglo-Saxon 

150rr0wed  or  jtf  oreign  (^chiefly  <jlas 
sical;  Latin  and  Greek  turougii 
French) 

k    (and  kii)  initial 

king 

p    initial  (generally) 

poor 

w    (and  oio)  initial  and 

f  winter 
morrow 

V     initial  (generally) 

various 

final 

j     palatal,  "soft" 

judge 

y    initial 

young 

g    palatal,  '*soft" 

germ 

hi   initial  (generally) 

blow 

gu  (originally  w) 

guard 

sw  initial  (generally) 

swim 

qu  (sometimes) 

question 

ng  internal  and  final 

bringing 

ph  (Greek) 

philosophy 

loh  initial 

white 

rh  (Greek) 

rhetoric 

sh  initial  and  internal 

sheep 

ch  ''hard" 

scheme 

gh 

th  (generally) 

light 
thick 

y    internal  (not  initial 
or  final) 

crypt 

ee,  00 

sheep 
good 

The  accompanying  diagram  represents  approximately 
the  proportion  of  classical  and  Germanic  elements  in 
English,  about  five  sevenths  of  the  English  vocabulary 
being  of  classical  derivation,  and 
about  two  sevenths  words  of  Ger- 
manic origin.  The  small  unmarked 
segment  represents  the  combined 
elements  from  all  other  sources, 
represented  by  only  about  two  or 
three  thousand  words. 

But  this  proportion  is  based 
upon  the  relative  number  of  words  to  be  found  in  an 
unabridged  dictionary,  and  does  not  at  all  represent  the 
proportion  of  Latin  and  Saxon  words  employed  in  ordi- 
nary speech.  Tested  by  use,  it  will  be  found  much  easier 
to  do  without  Latin  than  without  Saxon  words.  This  fact 
will  be  further  developed  in  another  chapter. 


GREEK,  LATIN,  AND  FRENCH  ELEMENTS 


47 


QUESTIONS  ON   CHAPTER  III 

lo  What  are  tlie  three  important  classes  of  foreign  words 
in  English  ? 

2.  Explain  in  detail  the  principle  of  classification,  (a)  of 
Greek  derivatives ;  (b)  of  the  Latin  derivatives  of  four  periods 
and  sources ;  (c)  of  the  French  derivatives  of  two  periods  and 
sources. 

3.  Explain  the  following  Greek  derivatives,  with  reference 
to  stems :  — 

(The  student  will  find  it  an  invaluable  aid  in  farther  work,  to  become 
so  familiar  with  the  few  stems  given,  that  he  can  recognize  their  form  and 
meaning  instantly,  and  without  consulting  the  list.) 


archaeology- 

astrology 

chronology 

geology 

archaic 

biology 

chronometer 

geography 

astronomy 

biography 

entomology 

geometry 

economics 

monarchy 

cyclometer 

electric 

optics 

autocrat 

bicycle 

barometer 

phonetics 

oligarchy 

pandemonium 

critic 

physiology 

hierarch 

monk 

graphic 

physics 

heptarchy 

meter 

metropolis 

technology 

democrat 

dynameter 

politics ' 

theology 

plutocrat 

scope 

encyclopedia 

zoology 

aristocracy 

telescope 

pantomime 

philosophy 

•  patriarch 

microscope 

mimic 

philology 

anarchy 

technic  (French  form  technique  often 
petroleum  (second  stem  means  oil) 
skeptic  (one  that  looks  into  things) 


used) 


4.  Find  in  the  International  Dictionary  as  many  deriva- 
tives as  possible  from  the  Latin  stems  given.  (Be  sure  that 
the  dictionary's  explanation  of  the  derivation  of  each  word 
is  thoroughly  studied.) 

5.  How  are  French  derivatives  to  be  known? 


48 


STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 


6.  Give  a  short  sketch  of  the  threefold  Norman  influences, 
with  examples. 

7.  Give  examples  of  early  and  late  French  borrowing. 

8.  Write  the  Latin  derivative  in  English,  and  the  French 
derivative  in  English,  from  each  of  the  following  stems :  — 


reg 

vocal 


car 


mere 

not 

fac 

frag 

cant 

fact    ' 

rati 

popul 

particul 

supplic 

inimic 

lingu 

vocal 

9.   What  endings   and    prefixes    usually   mark  words   as 
French  in  origin  ? 

10.  How,  in  general,  may  Latin  stems  be  distinguished  from 
Norman  French  ? 

11.  Give  examples  of  three  classes  of  Norman-Saxon  hybrids. 
Give  five  French  stems  not  found  in  classical  Latin. 
What  are  the  general  marks  of  Saxon  stems  ?     Illus- 


12. 

13. 

trate. 

14. 


Pick  out  Saxon  derivatives  among  the  foreign  words :  — 


telephone 

friend 

domestic 

house 

heaven 

reply 

chicken 

precise 


handsome 

horseman 

doorway 

distract 

opening 

credulous 

evaporate 

orchard 


audible 

hand 

hearth 

felicity 

hope 

quadrant 

shrewd 

holly 


harshness 

elegant 

holiness 

forceful 

comparison 

colloquy 

ladle 

metric 


15.   Distinguish  the  Greek  and  the  Latin  derivatives :  - 

monograph       inquisitive        rupture  anarchy 

implication       bicycle  revolution       disturb 


16.    Give  five  words  derived  from  Latin  through  French. 


) 

/ 


GREEK,    LATIN,   AND   FRENCH   ELEMENTS  49 

TOPICS   IN   CONNECTION   WITH   CHAPTER   HI 

I.    Stems  of  same  meaning,  coming  from  different  languages, 
produce  words  of  varied  meanings. 
Discuss,  in  this  connection,  the  following  groups :  — ■ 

kindly,  genial,  general,  generic, 
healthy,  sane,  salutary,  salubrious, 
timely,  chronic,  temporary,  temporal, 
motherly,  metropolitan,  maternal, 
earthly,  geological,  terrestrial. 

II.    Origin  of  the  Normans,  and  short  sketch  of  the  history  of 
Normandy. 

III.  Distinctive  traits   of  the   modern   French   and   German 

nations,  as  suggested  by  the  greater  attention  given 
by  the  French  language  to  the  claims  of  euphony. 

IV.  Advantage  of  having  English  words  from  both  Latin  and 

Teutonic  sources. 

STU.  ENG.  WORDS 4 


CHAPTER   IV 

GROWTH  AND  CHANGE   IN  FORM  OF  ENGLISH  WORDS 

Roots.  —  Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  words  of  primitive 
languages  are  thought  to  have  consisted  of  only  two  or 
three  letters,  one  of  which  was  a  vowel.  These  monosyl- 
labic roots  were  modified  in  use  and  meaning  by  being 
combined.  Such  languages  as  have  used  only  these  com- 
binations of  monosyllabic  roots,  keeping  the  roots  un- 
changed for  all  uses  and  relations,  and  marking  the 
compound  in  every  case  by  a  hyphen,  are  called  Mono- 
syllabic languages.  Of  this  family,  Chinese  is  the  most 
familiar  representative. 

Stems.  —  Other  languages  have  combined  their  roots 
much  more  closely,  until  we  find  many  stems  of  two  syl- 
lables, or  of  one  syllable  containing  several  consonants, 
which  must  be  the  corrupted  forms  of  original  root 
combinations.  To  these  stems,  in  turn,  are  added  other 
syllables  or  letters  which  are  of  so  recent  formation  as 
to  be  plainly  traceable  to  originally  independent  words ; 
or  in  some  cases,  instead  of  an  added  syllable  or  letter,  we 
have  an  internal  change  of  the  root  vowel.  Those  lan- 
guages which  express  changes  of  meaning  or  of  grammat- 
ical relation  in  these  two  ways  —  by  external  additions, 
or  by  internal  vowel  change  —  are  called  Inflectional 
languages.  All  the  Indo-European  languages  are  in 
some  degree  inflectional. 

60 


GROWTH   AND   UHAJNGE    IN    FORM  51 

Inflectional  Change.  —  As  examples  of  these  two  kinds 
of  inflectional  change,  in  English,  we  may  take  our  two 
verb  preterites.  Our  strong  verbs  change  the  root  vowel 
to  form  their  past  tense :  as  sing,  sang.  Our  weak  verbs 
at  first  annexed  a  helping  (auxiliary)  verb,  which  has 
now  degenerated  into  a  mere  ending  :  as  love,  love-did 
(or  a  similar  form  of  the  verb  do')  =  love-d. 

The  examination  of  stem  changes  to  express  various 
grammatical  relations,  such  as  the  modifications  of  nouns 
and  verbs,  belongs  to  Grammar.  We  shall  here  take  up 
only  the  changes  by  which  various  shades  of  meaning 
and  relation  are  given  to  the  same  stem,  by  the  formation 
of  various  derivatives,  in  two  ways :  — 

By  adding  to  one  word  another  independent  word. 

By  adding  a  prefix  or  sufiix  to  a  stem. 

Compounds.  —  In  the  formation  of  compound  words  we 
can  trace  the  various  stages  by  which  this  second  method 
seems  only  a  continuation  of  the  first. 

The  words  stand  independently,  written  variously  by 
different  authorities  with  or  without  hyphens :  e.g.,  man- 
of-war;  this  is  so  loose  a  combination  that  each  word 
retains  practically  its  distinct  accent. 

The  hyphen  disappears,  and  the  whole  is  now  written 
as  one  word,  with  only  the  one  accent  natural  to .  a  single 
word:  e.g,,  thanksgiving. 

The  less  important  word  is  shortened,  in  pronunciation 
and  then  in  spelling :  e.g.,  thanJcfull  =  thankful ;  till  finally, 
the  second  element  is  recognized  only  as  a  suffix  or  prefix. 

Prefixes.  —  We  may  now  examine  the  form  and  force 
of  the  commoner  English  prefixes  and  suffixes,  arranged 
in  groups  according  to  their  source. 

Prefixes  may  omit  or  change  a  final  letter  in  order  to 
sound  well  with  the  first  letter  of  the  stem  to  which  they 


52  STUDY  OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

are  attached.  This  is  an  illustration  of  the  principle  of 
Euphony.  When  the  final  letter  of  the  prefix  is  made 
to  match  the  initial  letter  of  the  stem,  the  process  is 
called  Assimilation.  Assimilation  may  be  partial,  as  in 
sympathy^  or  complete,  as  in  syllable.  The  following  lists 
contain  the  commonest  prefixes  derived  from  Latin  and 
Greek.  The  prefixes  are  given  in  their  original  forms, 
and  in  the  forms  produced  by  euphonic  changes. 

I.   Prefixes  from  the  Greek 

a,  an,  without,  not.  Has  a  negative  force :  Orchromatic,  color- 
less  :  an-arcliy,  lack  of  government. 

amphi,  on  both  sides,  around :  amphi-biouSj  living  both  (on  land 
and  in  water). 

ana,  up,  upon,  again :  ana-lyze,  to  loose  again  (the  elements  of 
a  compound) ;  ana-tomy,  a  cutting  up. 

anti,  ant,  against :  anti-patliy,  a  feeling  against ;  ant-agonist,  a 
struggler  against. 

apo,  aph,  off,  away,  from :  apostle,  one  sent  from ;  aph-orism,  a 
marking  off,  definition.  ' 

cata,  cath,  down,  completely,  according  to :  catastrophe,  a  down- 
turning,  overturning ;  cath-olic,  on  the  whole,  universal. 

dia,  through :  diormeter,  measure  through. 

dis,  di,  twice,  double :  dissyllabic,  having  two  syllables ;  di-mity] 
a  double-threaded  fabric. 

ec,  ex,  out :  ec-lectic,  choosing  out ;  ex-odus,  a  going  out. 

en,  em,  in :  en-caustic,  burnt  in ;  em-phatic,  putting  on  stress  of 
voice. 

epi,  ep,  on,  to:  epi-gram,  something  written  on;  eph-emeral, 
lasting  only  for  a  day. 

eu,  ev,  well :  eu-phony,  a  pleasing  sound ;  ev-angelist,  a  messen- 
ger of  good. 

hemi,  half :  hemisphere,  a  half-sphere. 

hyper,  over,  excessive :  hyper-critical,  over-critical. 


GROWTH   AND   CHANGE   IN   FORM  53 

bypo,  hyph,  under :  hypo-dermiCy  under  the  skin ;  hyph-euy  a 
stroke  uniting  two  parts  of  a  word. 

meta,  met,  math,  among,  with,  after.  Sometimes  denotes 
change :  meta-morphosiSy  change  of  form ;  met-eor,  a  thing 
suspended  among ;  meth-odj  a  way  after. 

para,  par,  beside,  contrary :  para-dox,  contrary  to  opinion :  par- 
allel, beside  each  other. 

peri,  around :  peri-meter,  measure  around. 

poly,  many :  poly-glot,  in  many  languages. 

pro,  before :  pro-hlem,  a  thing  placed  before. 

pros,  towards :  pros-elyte,  one  who  comes  to  (another  belief). 

syn,  syl,  sym,  sy,  with :  syn-tax,  arrangement  together ;  syl-lable 
(letters)  taken  together;  sym-pathy^  a  suffering  with;  sy- 
stem, a  placing  together. 

II.   Prefixes  from  the  Latin 

a,  see  ab,  ad,  ex, 

ab,  a,  abs,  av,  from :  ah-lior,  to  shrink  from ;  a-vert,  to  turn 
from ;  abs-tain,  to  hold  from ;  av-aunt,  from  before  (be- 
gone). 

ad,  a,  ac,  af ,  ag,  al,  an,  ap,  ar,  as,  at,  to :  ad-equate,  equal  to ; 
Orchieve,  to  come  to  the  end,  accomplish;  ac-cede,  to  yield 
to ;  af-Jix,  to  fasten  to ;  ag-gregate,to  flock  to ;  al-ly,  to  bind 
to ;  an-nex,  to  tie  to ;  ap-pend,  to  hang  to ;  ar-rogant,  ask- 
ing for ;  as-sent,  to  think  toward ;  at-tempt,  to  try  toward. 

amb,  am  (=  Greek  amplii),  about:  amh-ient,  going  around;  am- 
putate, to  cut  about. 

ante,  anti,  an,  before :  ante-cedent,  going  before ;  ayiti-cipate,  to 
take  before  ;  an-cestor,  forefather. 

bene,  well :  bene-Jlcent,  doing  well. 

bis,  bi,  twice,  two :  bis-cuit,  twice  cooked ;  bi-ennial,  occurring 
every  two  years ;  bi-annual,  occurring  twice  a  y^ar. 

circum,  around :  circumspect,  looking  around. 

contra,  contro,  counter,  against:  contrordict,  to  speak  against; 
contro-versy,  a  turning  against;  counter-act,  to  act  against. 


5i  STUDY   OP   ENGLISH   WORDS 

com,  CO,  col,  con,  cor,  with :  corn-bat,  to  fight  with ;  co-operate,  to 

work  with;    col-lide,  to  strike  together;    con-nect,  to  bind 

together ;  cor-respond,  to  answer  with. 
de,  di,  from,  off,  down :  de-duce,  to  draw  from ;  desist,  to  cease 

from  ;  distill,  to  drop  down, 
dis,  de,  di,  dif,  apart,  not :  dissimilar,  unlike ;  de-feat,  to  undo ; 

di-vide,  to  set  apart ;  dif-Jicult,  not  easy. 
du,  two :  du-plicate,  twofold. 
ex,  e,  ef,  a,  from,  out  of :  ex-clude,  to  shut  out ;  enormous,  out 

of  the  rule;  ef-fusive,  out-pouring;  a-mend,  to  free  from 

fault. 
extra,  beyond ;  extrorordinary,  beyond  the  common. 

1.  in,  am,  an,  em,  en,  il,  im,  ir,  in,  on,  to:    in-ject,  to  cast  in; 

am-hush,  hiding  in  a  wood ;  an-oint,  to  smear  on ;  em-hark, 
to  go  on  shipboard ;  en-danger,  to  place  in  danger ;  il- 
lustrate, to  throw  light  on ;  im-hihe,  to  drink  in ;  ir-rnption, 
a  bursting  in. 

2.  in,  en,  i,  il,  im,  ir,  not  (=  Eng.  un):    in-firm,  not   strong; 

en-emy,  not  friend;  i-gnoble,  not  noble;  il-legal,  not  law- 
ful ;  im-possible,  not  possible ;  ir-rational,  not  reasonable. 

inter,  intro,  between :  inter-pose,  to  put  between ;  intro-duce,  to 
lead  among. 

mis,  wrong,  ill  (French,  from  Lat.  minus) :  mis-chance,  ill  luck ; 
mis-creant,  unbeliever.     See  also  A.S.  mis-. 

ob,  oc,  of,  op,  against,  towards :  ob-ject,  to  cast  against ;  oc-cur, 
to  run  against ;  of-fer,  to  bring  towards ;  op-pose,  to  place 
against. 

pen(e),  almost:  pen-insula,  almost  an  island. 

per,  through,  thoroughly :  per-mit,  to  let  pass  through ;  per-fect, 
thoroughly  done. 

post,  after:  postscript,  written  after. 

pre,  before :  pre-caution,  fore-caution. 

pro,  before,  forth :  pro-duce,  to  bring  forth. 

re,  red,  back,  again:  re-act,  to  act  backward;  red-eem,  to  buy 
back. 


GROWTH   AND    CHANGE    IN   FORM  55 

ee,  sed,  apart :  se-cede,  to  go  apart ;  sed-ition,  a  going  apart. 

semi,  half:  semi-annuaU  half-yearly. 

sub,  sue,  suf,  sug,  sup,  sur,  sus,  under,  close   after:    sub-ject, 

to  cast  under;  suoceed,  to  come  after;    suf-fix,  to  fasten 

after;  suggest,  to  carry  under;   sup-pose,  to  place  under; 

sur-reptitious,  stealthy ;  sus-tain,  to  hold  underneath. 
super,  sur,  over :  super-abundant,  over-abundance ;  sur-name,  an 

added  name  ;  sur-loin,  part  above  the  loin. 
trans,  tra,  tran,  tres,  across  :    trans-fer,  to  carry  across :    tra- 

dition,  handing  over;  transcribe,  to  copy  over;  tres-pass,  to 

overstep. 

III.    Prefixes  from  the  French 

Most  French  words  retain  the  Latin  form  of  the  com- 
mon Latin  prefixes.  In  cases  in  which  we  have  both  old 
and  modern  forms  (as  in  the  Latin  super^  shortened  in 
F'rench  to  sur^  by  the  regular  omission  of  a  consonant 
between  two  vowels  in  Latin-French  words)  the  French 
form  of  the  prefix  will  usually  be  found  with  distinctively 
French  stems :  sur-feit^  sur-mise^  sur-prise,  sur-vey. 

These  modified  French  forms  are  included  in  the  pre- 
ceding list. 

IV.    English  Prefixes 

ft,  of,  on;  Orkin,  a-board,  a-foot.  Special  caution  should  be 
employed  in  assigning  derivations  to  words  containing 
this  prefix,  which  has  at  least  thirteen  different  values  in 
English  (see  Greek  a,  Lat.  a,  ab,  ad,  ex).  As  an  English 
prefix  it  may  represent  Anglo-Saxon  and:  a-long  (A.S. 
andlang);  Gothic  ur:  a-rise:  A.S.  an,  one:  a-pace,  one 
pace. 

^^i  by,  by,  on.  This  common  prefix  has  a  variety  of  meanings. 
It  is  used  to  intensify  transitive  verbs:  bespatter,  be- 
sprinkle; with  intransitive  verbs  to  make  transitive  verbs: 


56 


STUDY   OF    ENGLISH    WORDS 


be-think;  with  nouns  and  adjectives  to  make  transitive 
verbs:  be-jeivel,  besiege,  be-dim;  as  an  element  of  nouns, 
prepositions,  and  adverbs ,  be-half,  by-word,  be-fore. 

for,  from :  for-bid,  to  bid  from.  It  has  also  an  intensive 
force :  for-lorn,  quite  lost.  Forego  is  a  mistaken  spelling 
for  forgo. 

fore,  before,  in  front :  fore-bode,  fore-ground. 

gain,  against :  gain-say,  to  speak  against.     Compare  a-gain. 

mis,  wrong,  badly :  mis-deed,  mis-take  (not  to  be  confused  with 
French  mis-  from  Lat.  minus). 

n  (A.S.  ne),  not:  n-one,  not  one;  n-ever,  n-either,  n-or. 

out,  ut,  out,  completely :  out-land ish,  foreign ;  ut-tei^,  to  give  out 
(voice).  In  composition  it  sometimes  has  the  force  of  sur- 
pass: out-run,  to  surpass  in  running. 

1.  un,  not   (=  Lat.   in,   German   un,   negative):    un-couth,  un~ 

known,  strange.  This  prefix  is  freely  used  with  French 
stems ;  its  final  letter  is  never  assimilated :  un-merited, 
un-ruly. 

2.  un  (=  German  ent).     A  verbal  prefix  distinct  from  1.  un, 

denoting  a  reversed  action :  un-lock,  un-fold. 
with,  against,  back  (German  wider) :  withstand,  to  stand  against; 
with-hold,  to  hold  back. 

Note. — The  independent  words  after,  in,  over,  up,  etc.,  retain  their 
usual  meanings  in  composition,  and  therefore  need  not  be  treated  here. 

The  student  should  now  be  able  to  account  for  the  pre- 
fix and  stem  of  every  word  in  the  following  list :  — 


transform 

contrite 

dissect 

biped 

reply 

degrade 

adverse 

subscribe 

protest 

bicycle 

precede 

permanent 

support 

prologue 

duplicity 

polytheism 

invert 

persuade 

interrupt 

inspect 

college 

recline 

assist 

postpone 

antipodes 

collection 

catalogue 

transfer 

GROWTH  AND   CHANGE   IN   FORM 


57 


repent 

appetite 

succor 

revolve 

transposition 

program 

deposit 

prelude 

define 

euphony- 

eloquence 

confidence 

persecute 

bisect 

admire 

illiterate 

inquire 

deduct 

report 

reject 

advent 

import 

composition 

survive 

benediction 

abuse 

eccentric 

prefer 

subsequent 

provide 

dispel 

arrogance 

comfort 

involve 

application 

repel 

educate 

benefactor 

prepare 

promote 

correct 

distort 

attract 

aspect 

iniquity  (for 

inequity) 

All  analysis  should  be  made  without  reference  to  former 
lists,  and  then  verified  by  Webster's  International  or  some 
other  unabridged  dictionary. 

Suffixes. — We  shall  now  examine  the  commoner  suffixes 
in  the  same  way,  with  regard  to  origin  and  meaning. 
These  suffixes  are  given  in  the  forms  which  they  have 
gradually  assumed  in  English  in  consequence  of  their  fre- 
quent combination  with  certain  final  stem  letters.  Thus 
i  in  -ic^  s  in  -sm  and  -st^  a,  z,  u  in  -able^  -ible^  and  -uble  are 
in  reality  not  portions  of  the  endings,  but  belong  to  the 
stems  to  which  these  endings  were  joined. 


I.     Suffixes  from  the  Greek 

-ic  (French  4que,  Old  English,  -ick).  Adjective  ending :  graphic, 
dramatic,  egotistic.  Many  adjectives  thus  formed  are  used 
as  nouns  (see  p.  36) :  arithmetic,  music.  The  modern 
plural  noun-form  -ics  denotes  a  science:  physics,  mathe- 
matics. The  ending  -ic  is  frequently  combined  with 
Latin  -al,  -ity,  to  produce  the  endings  -ical,  -icity ;  critical, 
electricity. 


58  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

-ism,  -ist,  see  -m,  4. 

-ize,  -ise.     Verb  ending :  eulogize^  criticise. 

-m,  -ma,  -ism,  -sm  (Greek  -ma  [stem  -mat],  -mps).  Noun  ending 
denoting  an  action,  condition,  or  theory,  or  the  result  of 
an  action  :  rhythm,  drama,  Platoiiism,  egotism,  chasm.  In 
nouns  ending  in  -ma  (or  -m,  when  shortened  from  -ma)  the 
final  t  of  the  stem  -mat  reappears  before  the  adjective 
ending  -ic:  dramatic,  prismatic;  but  when  the  final  -m 
represents  the  Greek  -mos,  the  ending  is  added  immedi- 
ately to  the  stem :  rhythmic.  The  ending  -ism  is  often 
combined  with  Latin  stems :  provincialism. 

-sis.     Noun  ending,  denoting  action :  genesis,  analysis. 

-sm,  -St,  see  -m,  -t. 

-t,  -St,  -ist.  Noun  ending,  denoting  the  agent :  poet,  iconoclast, 
dramatist.  The  ending  -ist  is  in  very  free  use  with  stems 
of  Latin  and  other  origin :  naturalist. 

•ter  or  -tre  (Greek  -tron).     Noun  ending:  theater  or  theatre. 

-y  (Greek  -ia).     Noun  ending,  forming  abstract  nouns :  suryery. 

II.   Suffixes  from  the  Latin  and  Latin-French 

-able,  see  -ble. 

-ace,  see  -ce. 

-aceous  (Lat.  -aceus).  Adjective  ending,  used  chiefly  in  botany 
and  zoology :  herbaceous. 

-acious.  Adjective  ending,  as  if  from  Latin  -aciosus;  coined 
by  adding  the  suffix  -ous  to  stems  in  -aci:  pugnacious. 

-acity  (Lat.  -acitat[em'\).  Noun  ending  corresponding  to  the 
adjective  ending  -acious:  pugnacity. 

-acy,  see  -ce. 

-age  (Lat.  -aticum).  Noun  ending,  originally  confined  to  French 
stems,  now  freely  used  with  various  stems :  advantage,  foli- 
age, breakage. 

-ain,  see  -an. 

-al  (Lat.  -alis).     Adjective  and  noun  ending:  formal,  animal. 


GROWTH   AND   CHANGE   IN   FORM  59 

-an,  -ane,  -ain,  -ian  (Lat.  -anus,  -ianus).  Adjective  and  noun 
endings  :  hitman,  huynane,  certain^  Christian. 

-ance,  -ancy,  -ence,  -ency  (Lat.  -antia,  -entia).  Noun  endings  cor- 
responding to  the  adjective  endings  -ant,  -ent:  observance, 
expectancy, _  obedience,  dependency. 

-aneous  (Lat.  -aneus).     Adjective  ending :  contemporaneous. 

-ant,  -ent  (Lat.  -ani[em],  -en^[em]).  Adjective  and  noun  end- 
ing, =  Eng.  -ing,  -er :  expectant,  obedient,  servant,  continent. 

1.  -ar  (Lat.  -aris).     Adjective  ending :  regular. 

2.  -ar,  -ary,  -ry,  -ier,  -ear,  -er  (Lat.  -arius,  -arium).    Noun  ending : 

.  vicar,  secretary,  sanctuary,  vestry,  chandelier,  volunteer,  saucer. 

1.  -ary,  -arious,  -arian  (Lat.  -arius).     Adjective  ending:  neces- 

sary, precarious,  riparian. 

2.  -ary,  see  2.  -ar. 

1.  -ate,  see  -t. 

2.  -ate  (Lat.  -at[us'],  ending  of  the  fourth  declension).     Noun 

ending,  denoting  office  :  senate,  consulate. 
-atic,  see  -ic. 

1.  -ble,  -able,  -ible  (Lat.  -bilis).     Adjective  ending,  in  reality 

always  -ble,  affixed  to  stems  ending  in  a,  i,  u :  admirable, 
audible,  voluble.  It  is  combined  in  English  with  stems  of 
any  origin :  teachable,  gullible.  Before  the  noun  ending  -ty 
it  resumes  the  original  form  -bili :  volubility. 

2.  -ble,  see  -plex. 

-ce,  -cy,  -ace,  -ice  (Lat.  -tia,  -cium,  -tium,  -acl^em"],  -ic^emj).    Noun 

ending:  diligence,  infancy  (see  -ance),  grace,  sacrifice,  palace, 

vice,  furnace,  pumice. 
-cle  (Lat.  -culum).     Noun  ending  for  diminutives  :  particle. 
-ear,  see  2.  -ar. 
-al,  -la  (Lat.  -ellus,  -idus).     Noun  ending  for  diminutives :  libel, 

angle. 
-ance,  -ancy,  see  -ance  and  -ce. 
-ant,  see  -ant. 
-arn  (Lat.  -emus,  -erna).    Noun  and  adjective  ending:  subaltern, 

cavern. 


GO  STUDY  OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

-ernal  (Lat.  -ernalls).     Adjective  ending :  lufernaL 

-esce  (Lat.  -esco).     Verb  ending:  acquiesce. 

-ete,  see  -t. 

-eur,  see  -tor. 

-fy  (Lat.  -Jico).     Verb  ending :  magnify. 

-ian,  see  -an. 

-ible,  see  -ble. 

-ic,  -ique,  -tic,  -atic  (Lat.  -icus,  -ticus).     Adjective  ending:  public, 

uniquey  rustic,  aquatic. 
-ice,  see  -ce. 
-icious  (Lat.  -iciosus;  also  a  coined  ending).    Adjective  ending: 

pernicious.     It  is  frequently  a  coined  ending  like  -acious 

and  -ocious :  judicious, 
-id  (Lsit. -idus).     Adjective  ending:  candid,  fluid. 
-ier,  see  2.  -ar. 
-ile,  -il,  -le  (Lat.  -His).     Adjective  ending:  fertile,  Gentile,  civil, 

gentle. 
-in,  -ine  (Lat.  -inus,  -ina).     Adjective  and  noun  ending :  Latin, 

feminine,  rapine. 
-ion,  -tion,  -sion,  -xion  (Lat.  -ion\_em~^.      Noun  ending:    union, 

completion,  persuasion,  complexion. 
-ise  (Lat.  -itium).     Noun  ending:  exercise.     As  a  verb  ending 

it  is  identical  with  Greek  -ize. 
-ish.     Verb  ending  of  French  derivation :  finish. 
-ism,  see  Greek  -ism. 

-itious  (Lat.  -itiosus).     Adjective  ending:  ambitious. 
-ity,  see  -ty. 

-ive  (Lat.  -ivus).     Adjective  ending :  active,  passive, 
-le,  see  -el  and  -ile. 

-ment  (Lat.  -mentlumj).     Noun  ending:  ornament. 
-mony  (Lat.  -monium).     Noun  ending :  alimony,  patrimony. 
-ocious.     Adjective  ending,  as  if  from  Latin  -ociosus;  coined  by 

adding  the  suffix  -ous  to  stems  in  -oci :  atrocious. 
1.  -or  (Lat.  -or,  French  -eur).     Noun  ending,  forming  abstract 

nouns :  clamor,  fervor. 


GROWTH   AND   CHANGE    IN   FORM  61 

2.  -or,  see  -tor, 

-orium,  -ory  (Lat.  -orium)  :  auditorium,  factory. 
-orious,  -ory  (Lat.  -orius).     Adjective  ending:  meritorious, preda- 
tory, advisory, 
•ory,  see  -orious,  -orium. 
-ose,  see  2.  -ous. 

1.  -ous  (Lat.  -us).     Adjective  ending:  credulous. 

2.  -ous,  -ose  (Lat.  -osus).     Adjective  ending:    religious,  morose. 

See  also  -acious,  -icious,  -ocious. 

-plex,  -pie,  -ble  (Lat.  -plex,  fold  (stem  -plic)).  Adjective  ending: 
complex,  folded  together ;  simple,  onefold ;  double,  twofold. 

-ry,  see  2.  -ar,  and  -y. 

-se,  see  -t. 

-sion,  see  -ion. 

-sor,  see  -tor. 

-sure,  see  -ture. 

-t,  -se,  ,-ate,  -ete,  -ite  (Lat.  -t[um'],  'S[um'],  ending  of  perfect  parti- 
ciple). N"oun,  adjective,,  and  verb  ending:  fact,  perfect, 
reject ;  verse,  reverse;  private,  complete,  polite. 

-ter  (Lat.  -ter),     Nonn  endingi  minister,  master. 

-tery,  -try,  see  -y. 

-tic,  see  -ic.  ' 

-tion,  see  -ion. 

-tor,  -sor,  -or,  -eur  (Lat.  -tor,  -sor ;  Frencli  -eur).  Noun  ending 
denoting  the  agent :  rector,  divisor,  emperor,  amateur. 

-tude  (Lat.  -tud[inem']).     Noun  ending:  fortitude,  multitude. 

-ture,  -sure  (Lat.  -tura,  -sura).     Noun  ending:  picture,  measure. 

ty,  -ity  (Lat.  -tat[^em']).     Noun  ending :  liberty,  agility. 

-ure,  see  -tare. 

-y,  -tery,  -try  (Lat.  -ia,  -ium).  Noun  ending :  family,  mastery, 
ministry.  This  ending  is  freely  used  with  English  nouns 
of  agency  ending  in  -er :  bakery.  By  analogy  with  the 
last  class  of  words,  this  ending  appears  also,  under  the 
form  -ery,  with  numerous  stems :  cookery,  snuggery,  hen- 
nery.    See  also  -ance. 


62  STUDY    OF   ENGLISH    WORDS 


III.    English  Suffixes 


-craft.     Noun  ending  denoting  skill  or  trade :  statecraft,  witch- 

craft. 
-d,  see  -th. 
-dom.     Noun  ending  denoting  jurisdiction  or  quality :  kingdom^ 

wisdom. 
-el,  -le,  -1.     Noun  ending,  usually  diminutive:  kernel,  bundle, 

apple,  nail. 

1.  -en.     Noun,  adjective,  and  verb  ending :   maiden,  wooden, 

brighten. 

2.  -en,  see  -n. 

1.  -er.      Noun  ending,  denoting  agent,  instrument,  or  inhab- 

itant :  writer,  stair  (=  riser),  Londoner. 

2.  -er,  see  2.  -le. 

-ern.     Adjective  ending :  southern  (=  south-running). 

-ey,  see  -y. 

-fast.  Adjective  ending:  steadfast,  shamefaced  (corrupted  form 
of  shamefast,  through  a  mistaken  connection  with  face). 

-fold.     Adjective  ending :  tiuofold,  manifold. 

-ful.     Adjective  and  noun  ending  :  hopeful,  cupful. 

-hood,  condition  (A.S.  -had).  Noun  ending :  childhood,  priest- 
hood. 

-lie,  see  3.  -le. 

1.  -ing  (A.S.  -ung).     Verbal  noun  ending:  traveling,  clothing. 

2.  -ing,  son,  part.     Noun  ending:  king  (A.B.  cyning),  farthing. 
-ish,  -sh   (A.S.  -isc).      Adjective   ending :    heathenish,    Danish, 

French  (=  Frankish),  fresh.     (It  has  no  connection  with 

the  -ish  of  punish,  etc.) 
-k.     Verb  ending,  usually  frequentative  :  hark. 
-kin.     Diminutive  noun  ending :  napkin,  manikin. 

1.  -le,  -1,  see  -el. 

2.  -le,  -1,  -er.      Verb   ending,  usually   frequentative :    sparkle, 

kneel,  chatter. 

3.  -le,  -il.     Adjective  ending :  idle,  evil. 

-less,  without.     Adjective  ending :  godless,  hopeless. 


GROWTH   AND   CHANGE    IN   FORM 


63 


-like,  -ly  (A.S.  -lie).     Adjective  ending  :  godlike,  godly. 

-ling.     Diminutive  noun  ending :  gosling,  worldling,  darling, 

-m,  -me,  -om.     Noun  ending :  room,  dream,  home,  bottom. 

-n,  -en,  -on.     Noun  ending :  horn,  oven,  weapon. 

-ness.     Noun  ending:  loveliness. 

-om,  see  -m. 

-on,  see  -n. 

-sh,  see  -ish. 

-ship,  state  (A.S.  -scipe).     Noun  ending :  friendship,  worship. 

-some.     Adjective  ending :  meddlesome,  handsome. 

-stead,  place.     Noun  ending :  bedstead,  homestead. 

-ster.  Noun  ending,  originally  feminine,  but  now  equivalent  to 
-er :  youngster,  teamster.  The  only  word  in  which  it  retains 
a  feminine  meaning  is  spinster. 

-t,  see  -th. 

-ter,  see  -ther. 

-th,  -t,  -d.  Noun  and  adjective  ending:  birth,  height,  bloody- 
south,  soft,  dead. 

-ther,  -ter,  -der.     Noun  ending :  father,  daughter,  murder. 

-ward.     Adjective  ending:  forward,  heavenward. 

-y,  -ey  (A.S.  -ig).  Noun  and  adjective  ending:  body,  honey, 
crafty. 


Let  the  student  identify  all  elements  (stems,  prefixes, 
suffixes)  in  each  of  the  following  words,  giving  meanings 
both  of  elements  and  of  derivatives  :  — 


educate 

mission 

sentence 

antecedent 

beneficence 

victor 

regent 

vertical 

century 

usage 

fragment  • 

precedent 

vivacious 

convenient 

mental 

credible 

eulogistic 

valor 

degenerate 

gradual 

compassion 

opponent 

inventor 

elegance 

diffident 

specific 

penitent 

immediate 

science 

providence 

permanent 

liberal 

generic 

scientific 

spectator 

complacent 

64 


STUDY   OF    ENGLISH    WORDS 


hospital    . 

visible 

presentiment 

competence 

corruptible 

servant 

mortal 

fragile 

efficient 

confident 

repentance 

revision 

literary 

division 

vocal 

eloquent 

local 

sacrament 

vision 

incident 

deficient 

testimony 

immortalize 

audience 

circumstance 

position 

eulogist 

sentiment 

temporary 

maternal 

alliteration 

deducible 

Weakening.  —  We  have  seen  how  stems,  once  indepen- 
dent, have  weakened  into  prefixes  or  suffixes  ;  in  the  lists 
given,  we  have  noticed  that  many  of  the  suffixes  them- 
selves, in  passing  from  one  language  to  another,  through 
the  lapse  of  time  and  through  carelessness  of  pronuncia- 
tion, have  become  so  much  shorter  as  to  be  hardly  recog- 
nizable ;  e.g.,  the  suffix  -osus  in  Latin  was  added  to  noun 
stems,  to  form  adjectives  denoting  usually  the  presence 
of  a  quality,  or  its  abundance ;  as  religiosus,  odiosus  = 
religion-ful^  hate-ful.  The  modern  forms  of  this  suffix 
(French  -eux^  English  -ous^  have  been  contracted  into 
one  syllable,  simply  for  easier  pronunciation. 

The  weakening  of  grammatical  endings  which  belonged 
originally  to  Latin  and  Teutonic  inflections  is  a  marked 
characteristic  of  the  English  language. 

For  example,  the  final  -a  of  Latin  nouns  of  the  first 
declension  appears  in  English  oftenest  as  a  mere  silent  e  : 
thus  Latin  Roma^  rosa  become  English  Home,  rose. 


QUESTIONS  ON   CHAPTER   IV 

1.  What  is  a  Monosyllabic  Language  ? 

2.  What  are  the  two  general  methods  of  inflection  ?  Illus- 
trate in  English.  Give  an  original  illustration  in  the  two 
classes  of  noun  plurals. 


GROWTH   AND    CHANGE    IN   FORM 


65 


3.  What  are  two  ways  of  forming  new  words  ? 

4.  Through  what  stages  may  a  word  pass  from  a  compound 
word  to  a  simple  one;  i.e.,  how  may  the  less  important  ele- 
ment lose  its  independence  ? 

5.  Find  in  the  Dictionary  lists  of  deri^ratives  from  the 
prefixes  given  on  pages  52-56.  (The  length  of  the  lists  may 
be  regulated  by  each  teacher  according  to  the  number  of  les- 
sons devoted  to  this  chapter.) 

6.  Write  similar  lists  of  derivatives  from  the  suffixes  given 
on  pages  57-63,  using  the  following  stems :  — 


sweet- 

pati- 

recti- 

listen- 

achieve- 

bright- 

sess- 

dimin- 

ami- 

atone- 

character- 

puri- 

compat- 

machin- 

hindr- 

basket- 

farin- 

fam- 

civil- 

execut- 

effic- 

Rom- 

oper- 

law- 

felic- 

rust- 

tire- 

duck- 

ver- 

pilgrim- 

correspond- 

fert- 

poet- 

classi- 

fear- 

urb- 

chival- 

earl- 

brook- 

advert- 

consist- 

desue- 

grati- 

mod- 

ferv- 

command- 

fellow- 

Janu- 

7.   What  further  weakening  takes  place  in  many  cases,  after 
a  stem  has  become  a  mere  suffix? 


II. 


TOPICS   IN   CONNECTION   WITH   CHAPTER   IV 

General  difference  between  prepositions  used  separately 
or  as  verb  prefixes.  Compare  write  upon,  inscribe.  Com- 
pare also  separable  and  inseparable  prefixes  in  German. 

Irregularities  of  English  formations ;  e.g.,  why  do  not  all 
adjectives  in  -ant  correspond  to  nouns  in  -ance,  and  all 
adjectives  in  -ent  to  nouns  in  -encef 

STU.   ENG.  WORDS  —  6 


CHAPTER   V 

THE  SPELLING  OF  LATIN-ENGLISH 

English  is  proverbially  irregular  in  spelling ;  yet  its 
Latin  element  has  kept  certain  original  distinctions,  a 
knowledge  of  which  makes  certain  points  in  our  spelling 
intelligible.  Some  typical  distinctions  of  this  kind  we 
shall  now  examine,  in  two  groups:  1.  those  based  on  the 
characteristic  vowels  of  the  Latin  conjugations,  especially 
from  those  of  the  participles  in  each  conjugation  ;  2.  those 
based  on  the  characteristic  stems  of  the  Latin  declensions. 
1.  Derivatives  from  Verb  Stems.  —  Many  of  our  nouns, 
adjectives,  and  verbs  are  based  on  Latin  verb  forms,  par- 
ticularly on  the  stems  of  the  present  and  perfect  parti- 
ciples. A  general  scheme  of  the  vowels  belonging  to 
these  in  each  conjugation  will  help  to  make  our  spelling 
seem  more  reasonable,  even  in  those  cases  in  which  the 
pronunciation  gives  no  key  to  the  spelling.  The  charac- 
teristic vowel  is  made  prominent  by  heavy  type. 


Conjugation 
I 
II 
III 

IV 


Pre8.  Part.  Stem 

ant(em) 
ent(em) 
ent(em) 
ient(em) 


COERBSPONDING  ENGLISH   SUFFIX 

ant  ance    (ancy) 

ent  ence    (ency) 

ent  ence    (ency) 

lent  ience  (iency) 


Conjugation  Perf.  Part.  Stem  Corresponding  English  Suffix 

I  at(um)  ate     ation     ator     ative     atory 

II  et(um)  ete     etion  etive     itory 

66 


JUGATION 

Perf.  Part.  Stem 

II 

it(um) 

III 

t(um) 

s(um) 

IV 

it  (urn) 

THE   SPELLING   OF   LATIN-ENGLISH  67 

Corresponding  English  Suffix 
ite        ition      itor     itive     itory 
t(e)      tion       tor       tive       tory 
s(e)      sion       sor       sive       sory 
it(e)     ition      itor      itive     itory 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  vowels  before  the  participial 
sign  -nt  are  the  same  in  English  and  Latin. 

Typical  Derivatives 

First  Conjugation  Verbs :  expectant,  acceptance,  vacancy ;  ac- 
commodate, acceleration,  orator,  administrative,  anticipa- 
tory. 

Second  Conjugation  Verbs :  permanent,  adherence,  decency ; 
complete,  completion,  admonition,  monitory. 

Third  Conjugation  Verbs :  regent,  affluence,  agency ;  act,  di- 
rection, actor,  active,  factory ;  verse,  recess,  admission, 
confusion,  divisor,  excessive,  cursory.  '^ 

Fourth  Conjugation  Verbs  :  expedient,  experience,  expediency  ; 
advent,  finite,  expedition,  auditor,  infinitive,  auditory. 

In  cases  of  irregular  perfect  participles,  our  spelling 
often  follows  the  original;  e.g.,  from  pello^  pulsum^  we 
have  impels  impulse. 

Exceptions.  — •  Here  must  be  noted  a  class  of  words  in 
-ant^  coming  from  verbs  of  other  conjugations  than  the 
first,  through  the  old  French  use  of  -ant  in  all  cases.  The 
following  are  from  verbs  of  the  second  and  third  conju- 
gations, and  would,  if  taken  directly  from  the  Latin,  be 
written  -ent:  — 

ascendant  defendant  tenant 

attendant  repentant  valiant 

Exercise.  —  Form  and  explain  the  spelling  of  deriva- 
tives from  the  following  stems,  stating  the  conjugation 
to  which  they  are  to  be  referred  :  — 


68  STUDY    OF    ENGLISH    WORDS 

consist;  pati,  pass;  affirm;  agglomer ;  conjluy  influ,  aggreg ; 
despond;  imman;  immiyi;  alien;  pend;  alliter;  transi;  altern; 
constitu;  correspond;  alterc;  delinqu ;  impend;  impud;  altern; 
amalgam;  diffld;  efflci;  amat;  ambul;  excell;  expon ;  intellig ; 
amplijic;  anim;  annihil;  preced;  also  from  the  following 
irregular  participle  stems :  soluty  absolut ;  accret ;  acquisit ; 
illat. 

Adjectives  in  -ble.  —  The  Latin  adjective  ending  -hilis 
took  the  form  -ahilis  with  verb  stems  of  the  first  conju- 
gation, and  the  form  -ihilis  with  others.  In  English, 
verbs,  adjectives,  and  nouns  in  -ate  and  -ation^  from  stems 
of  the  first  conjugation,  are  accompanied  by  adjectives  in 
-ahle^  while  those  from  stems  of  the  second,  third,  and 
fourth  conjugations  have  adjectives  in  -ihle. 


I   CONJ. 

II   CONJ. 

III   OONJ. 

IV  OoNJ. 

acceptable 

horrible 

admissible 

audible 

venerable 

visible 

invincible 

sensible 

As  in  the  case  of  -ant  and  -ent^  Old  French  used  -able 
indiscriminately  for  stems  of  all  conjugations ;  we  have 
thus  in  English  many  adjectives  in  -ahle^  not  derived  from 
stems  of  the  first  conjugation,  but  taken  from  French 
forms  in  -able.  Others  are  formed  simply  by  adding  -able 
to  an  English  verb. 

preferable  preventable  breakable 

tenable  answerable  enjoyable 

2.  Derivatives  from  Noun  Stems.  —  The  spelling  of  our 
words  derived  from  Latin  nouns  and  adjectives  may  often 
be  explained  by  reference  to  the  stem  rather  than  to  the 
nominative  form  to  which  the  derivation  is  referred  in 
most  Dictionaries.  This  will  be  seen  by  study  of  the 
following  table  :  — 


THE   SPELLING   OE  LATIN-ENGLISH 


69 


NoMiNATivK  Form, 
Latin  Word 

vetiis 

rex 

caput 

genus 

tempus 

mors 

simplex 

corpus 

princeps 

miles 


veter- 

reg- 

csiipit- 

gener- 

tempor- 

mor^ 

simplzc- 

corpor- 

princip- 

milit- 


English  Derivativh 

veter-an 
reg-al 
capiY-al 
gener-al 
•    tempor-al 
mortal 
simpl?'c-ity 
corpor-al 
princip-al 
military 


Weakened  Forms.  —  Many  words,  through  the  weaken- 
ing or  shortening  processes  of  language  change,  have 
become  more  abbreviated  in  sound  than  in  spelling. 
The  silent  letters  thus  retained  seem  quite  irrational, 
unless  referred  to  the  Latin  original;  e.g.,  debtor^  from 
Latin  debitor.  The  same  principle  may  be  seen  at  work 
in  words  of  English  origin,  as  in  knee^  know^  would.  For 
detailed  study  of  these  changes,  Skeat's  Etymological 
Dictionary  is  specially  recommended  to  teachers  and 
advanced  students. 

The  aim  of  this  chapter  has  been  to  give  to  students 
that  have  not  studied  Latin  a  glimpse  into  the  influence 
of  Latin  Grammar  upon  English  spelling,  and  to  encour- 
age those  that  know  Latin  Grammar  to  make  farther 
research  in  the  directions  pointed  out.  If  the  class  has 
done  elementary  Latin  work,  several  lessons  may  be  well 
employed  at  this  point,  in  enlarging  the  lists  above. 

It  is,  unfortunately,  impossible  to  give  similar  references 
at  this  point  to  Anglo-Saxon  grammar,  as  the  pupils  have 
usually  had  no  basis  for  such  work.  Such  study,  if  time 
were  taken  for  it,  would  throw  equal  light  upon  the  spell- 
ing of  Saxon  derivatives. 


CHAPTER  YI 

GROWTH  AND  CHANGE  IN  THE  MEANING  OF  WORDS 

Development  of  Meanings. — We  have  but  to  look,  in 
such  a  dictionary  as  Webster's  International,  at  the  list 
of  meanings  under  many  a  common  word,  to  see  that  a 
word  lives,  grows,  changes,  as  does  language  in  general. 
Let  us  take  a  few  of  the  simple  names  for  the  parts  of  the 
human  body,  and  trace  the  meanings  (some  of  which  are 
now  obsolete)  through  which  they  have  passed. 

Head 

1.  Original  physical  meaning. 

2.  Part  of  an  inanimate  object,  resembling  an  animal's  head : 

head  of  a  pin. 

3.  Part  of  an  inanimate  object  associated  with  a  man's  head : 

head  of  a  bed. 

4.  The  conspicuous  part  of  an  organized  body,  as  is  the  ani- 

mal's head  in  relation  to  its  body :  head  of  an  army. 

5.  In  counting,  an  individual :  thirty  head  of  cattle. 

6.  The  brain  (not  physical,  but  mental) :  a  clear  head. 

In  order  to  study  the  spreading  out  of  this  single  word 
into  its  various  meanings,  we  must  have  a  clear  notion  of 
the  principal  classes  of  Metaphor  (in  review,  or  anticipa- 
tion, as  the  case  may  be,  of  the  study  of  Rhetoric,  to 
which  figures  of  speech  properly  belong). 

The  word   metaphor   is   from  two  Greek  words,  —  the 

70 


GKOWTH  AND  CHANGE  IN  MEANING  OF  WORDS        71 

stem  phor  =  Latin /<3r,  to  carry,  and  the  preposition  meta^ 
beyond.  A  metaphor  is  a  carrying  of  a  word  beyond  its 
old  meaning. 

Principles  of  Change.  —  The  new  meaning  must  be  based 
on  the  old,  in  one  or  other  of  the  following  respects  :  — 

1.  Physical  likeness. 

2.  Association. 

3.  Likeness  of  relation. 

4.  The  conspicuous  part,  for  the  whole. 

5.  The  mental,  for  the  corresponding  physical. 

If  the  six  definitions  of  head  be  studied  with  reference 
to  these  principles  of  metaphor,  the  first  definition  will  be 
found  to  have  passed  over  into  the  second,  on  the  princi- 
ple marked  1 ;  the  second  into  the  third,  on  the  principle 
marked  2,  etc. 

1.  The  "head''  of  a  pin  looks  like  the  head  of  an  animate  body, 

and  so  suggests  to  the  mind  the  use  of  the  same  word. 

2.  The  "head"  of  a  bed  (or  of  a  table)  is  so  called  because  the 

mind  associates  it  with  the  human  head  (Principle  1)  oi 
with  the  head  of  a  family  (Principle  2). 

3.  The  "head''  of  an  army  is  its  leading  member,  as  is  the 

head  of  a  human  body.  This  is  an  equality  of  relations, 
and  may  be  expressed  in  mathematical  proportion :  — 

head  of  army  :  army  :  :  head  of  man  :  man. 

4.  A  "head."  of  sheep,  used  for  the  whole  sheep,  is  a  natural 

use  of  the  part  which  first  catches  the  eye,  for  the  whole, 
as  in  counting.  Compare  "a  sail,"  used  for  "a  ship"; 
also,  a  visible  outside  used  for  an  invisible  inside,  as  in 
the  expression,  "The  kettle  boils." 

5.  A  clear  "  head  "  is  one  example  of  the  commonest  of  all  meta- 

phors, —  the  transfer  from  physical  to  mental  or  spiritual 
meanings.     This  point  we  shall  now  take  up  more  fully. 


72  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

Change  from  Physical  Meaning  to  Mental.  —  In  the  lan- 
guage of  a  child  or  of  a  nation,  the  naming  of  physical 
things  comes  first.  By  physical  things  we  mean  simply 
things  tliat  are  known  by  the  physical  senses.  Now  there 
are  correspondences  between  the  impressions  made  upon 
the  senses  and  those  made  upon  the  mind  or  spirit.  When 
there  comes  a  need  for  naming  these  mental  and  spiritual 
things,  it  is  easy  to  transfer  the  words  already  in  use, 
from  the  physical  to  the  corresponding  mental  or  spiritual 
impressions. 

For  instance,  there  is  a  spiritual  glow  caused  by  human 
kindness,  which  corresponds  to  the  bodily  glow  felt  from 
physical  lieat.  So  we  say  that  a  man  has  warm  hands  — 
and  then,  that  he  has  a  wa<rm  heart.  The  principle 
marked  2  above  is  of  the  association  of  two  physical 
things;  this  transfer  from  the  physical  to  the  spiritual 
is  simply  a  carrying  out  of  the  same  principle,  —  the 
association  of  the  spiritual  and  physical, 

A  very  large  proportion  of  our  adjectives  descriptive 
of  spiritual  or  mental  states,  and  of  our  nouns  naming 
such  states,  had  first  a  purely  physical  application.  But 
before  taking  up  this  class  of  words,  which  are  largely 
Latin,  we  may  finish  our  study  of  the  simple  Saxon 
names  of  the  parts  of  the  body :  — 

The  six  definitions  given  for  the  word  head  were  used 
to  illustrate  the  five  classes  of  metaphor.  There  are  a 
few  other  meanings,  easily  to  be  classified:  —  we  should 
keep  in  mind,  however,  that  the  list  of  definitions  is  not 
developed  in  strict  order,  each  new  meaning  from  its 
predecessor ;  but  that  there  is  the  irregularity  of  natural 
growth,  so  that  care  must  be  taken  to  trace  each  use  to 
its  real  beginning.  Sometimes  a  very  late  meaning  is 
taken  directly  from  the  first  definition  of  the  word. 


GROWTH  AND  CHANGE  IN  MEANING  OF  WORDS        73 

7.  Source,  fountain :  head  of  the  Nile  (physical  metaphor  from 

Definition  1). 

8.  A  separate  part  of  a  discourse:  to  treat  a  subject  under  four 

heads  (mental  metaphor  from  Definition  4). 

9.  Crisis :  to  come  to  a  head  (mental  metaphor  from  Definition  1). 

We  have  also  the  idioms  :  — 

Head  and  ears  in  debt  (metaphor,  transferring  an  immersion 

from  the  physical  to  the  invisible). 
To  make  head  against  (metaphor,  transferring  resistance  in  the 

same  way). 

Foot 

1.  Original  physical  meaning. 

2.  Part  of  an  inanimate  object,  resembling  an  animal's  foot: 

foot  of  a  chair. 

3.  Lowest  part,  foundation:  foot  of  a  mountain. 

4.  Basis,  plan :  "  upon  the  foot  of  dry  reason  "  (obsolete). 

5.  Eank,  position  =  footing  (rare). 

6.  Measure  =  12  inches  (another  class  of  metaphor,  the  exact 

for  the  inexact.     Physical  metaphor  from  Definition  1). 

7.  Foot-soldiers :  "  Horse,  foot,  and  dragoons." 

8.  Measure  used  in  scanning  verse :    metaphor  from  Defini- 

tion 6.  ,^. 

U^  \<^^  '  ^         Idioms 

^  \  On  foot. 

To  set  on  foot  =  to  originate. 

Arm 

1.  Original  physical  meaning. 

2.  The  part  of  an  inanimate  object  resembling  the  human  arm  : 

arm  of  a  windmill. 

3.  The  part  of  an  inanimate  object  associated  with  the  human 

arm :  arm  of  a  chair. 

4.  Power:  the  secular  ai^m^r 


74  STUDY   OF  ENGLISH   WORDS 

Idiom 
At  arrays  length'. 

Hand 

1.  Original  physical  meaning. 

2.  Part  of  an  inanimate  object,  resembling  the  human  hand: 

hands  of  a  clock. 

3.  Measure  =  4  inches  (used  in  measuring  horses). 

4.  Side :  on  the  right  hand. 

5.  Side,  in  mental  application :  on  the  one  hand, 

6.  Power:  to  try  one's  hand. 

7.  Actual  performance :  it  is  his  hand. 

8.  Servant:  twenty  hands  in  the  field  (the  essential  part  for 

the  whole). 

9.  Handwriting.  ^^.^^^ 

In  his  hands  =  in  his  possession. 

Hand  and  seal  =  contract. 

To  have  a  hand  in  =  to  be  concerned  in. 

To  wash  one's  hands  of=  to  shake  off  responsibility. 

To  be  hand  and  glove  ivith  =  intimate  connection. 

To  live  from  hand  to  mouth  =  without  store  or  resources. 

Eye 

1.  Original  physical  meaning. 

2.  Part  of  an  inanimate  object,  resembling  the  eye  of  an  ani- 

mal :  eye  of  a  needle. 

3.  Power  of  seeing:  an  eye  for  beauty. 

4.  Observation :  under  the  eye  of  the  master. 

5.  Resembling  the  human  eye  in  importance  or  beauty:  the 

eye  of  day ;  compare  the  second  example. 

Idioms 

To  have  an  eye  to  —  to  be  on  the  watch  for. 
To  keep  an  eye  on  =  to  watch  over. 


GROWTH  AND   CHANGE   IN  MEANING   OF   WORDS       75 

Tongue 

1.  Part  of  the  body. 

2.  Words,  as  opposed  to  thoughts  or  actions :  *'  Let  us  not  love 

in  word  neither  in  tongueJ' 

3.  Speech,  language :  mother  tongue, 

4.  A  tribe  or  nation,  as  distinguished  by  their  speech:  all 

nations  and  tongues, 

5.  Part  of  an  inanimate  object,  resembling  in  form  or  position 

an  animaPs  tongue :  tongue  of  a  buckle ;  tongue  of  land. 

Some  other  simple  words  with  variety  of  meaning :  — 

Court 

1.  An  inclosed  space. 

2.  A  place  (from  the  idea  of  exclusiveness  and  protection: 

Principle  1). 

3.  The  body  of  persons  forming  the  retinue  of  a  ruler. 

4.  The  assembly  of  these  persons  :  to  hold  court. 

5.  Conduct  designed  to  gain  favor  (metaphor  from  associa- 

tion) :  to  pay  court, 

6.  A  hall  or  place  where  justice  is  administered. 

7.  The  persons  engaged  in  the  administration  of  justice. 

Set 

1.  To  seat,  give  place  to:  to  set  a  trunk  down. 

2.  To  attach :  to  set  one's  affections  on. 

3.  To  put  into  a  state :  to  set  one  thinking. 

4.  To  fix  firmly :  to  set  one's  features,  set  a  jeweL 

5.  To  appoint,  fix :  to  set  a  time. 

6.  To  regulate :  to  set  a  watch,  set  a  bone. 

7.  To  fit :  to  set  words  to  music. 

8.  To  stud :  to  set  with  diamonds. 

9.  To  point  out  (of  hunting  dogs). 

Transfer  of  Meaning  in  Saxon  and  in  Latin  Words.  —  It 

is  now  clear  that  in  our  Saxon  English  we  can  trace  within 


76  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

the  limits  of  an  English  dictionary  the  transfer  of  words 
from  the  earlier  and  simpler  to  the  later  and  more  compli- 
cated meanings ;  usually  also,  from  a  physical  to  a  mental 
application.  In  the  case  of  Latin  English,  our  English 
dictionary  often  tells  only  the  latter  half  of  the  story.  It 
is  to  be  remembered  that  the  Latin  was  a  finished  language 
when  we  took  so  largely  from  it ;  and  that,  having  already 
our  own  words  for  the  simpler  ideas,  especially  in  physical 
meanings,  we  in  most  cases  retained  them,  borrowing  the 
Latin  words  in  their  later  metaphorical  uses.  To  find  the 
first  uses  of  these  words  we  must  go  to  a  Latin  dictionary, 
j  and  we  shall  see  that  the  older  Roman  uses  of  a  word  throw 
!    much  light  on  the  English  derivatives  therefrom. 

A  familiar  example  of  this  transfer  is  the  word  intend. 
Originally  this  word  had  the  sense  of  a  physical  stretching 
toward  something.  This  physical  meaning  we  find  in  the 
English  dictionary,  but  it  is  marked  obsolete,  and  stands 
\  there  only  to  show  that  it  never  succeeded  in  displacing  a 
good  Saxon  word.  Only  the  metaphorical  sense  of  bend- 
ing the  mind  or  will  upon  has  come  into  English  use.  In 
Latin,  the  two  meanings  stand  side  by  side. 

This  metaphorical  basis  of  our  mental  and  spiritual 
'  vocabulary  is  a  favorite  subject  with  many  great  writers. 
Carlyle  (^Sartor  Mesartus  and  Hero  Worship^  and  Ruskin 
(Sesame  and  Lilies^  stop  often  to  discuss  the  facts  of 
human  thought  and  feeling  as  proved  by  these  metaphors. 
Archbishop  Trench  treats  the  subject  more  technically  in 
his  Study  of  Words.  The  student  is  strongly  advised  to 
do  some  reading  on  the  subject  at  this  point,  as  we  have 
room  here  for  only  a  few  striking  illustrations. 

In  classifying  these  words,  there  is  often  a  doubt  as  to 
whether  a  word  has  a  fixed  metaphorical  sense,  or  is 
simply  capable  of  metaphorical  use.     This  confusion,  and 


GROWTH  AND  CHANGE  IN  MEANING  OF  WORDS        77 

the  question  of  degree  that  enters  mto  the  steps  between 
literal  and  metaphorical  uses,  will  give  a  chance  for  open 
and  free  discussion  as  to  the  following  classification. 

Stem  vert,  vers.  Physical :  invert,  obverse.  Mental :  advert, 
adverse,  aversion,  controvert,  controversy,  converse,  inadvertence, 
inverse,  pervert,  perverse,  revert,  version.  Both  uses:  avert, 
convert,  divert,  reverse. 

To  invert  a  cup.  The  obverse  of  a  coin.  To  advert  to  a  sub- 
ject. Aversion  to  society.  He  converses  fluently.  The  theory 
was  controverted;  a  political  controversy.  To  inverse  order.  To 
revert  to  the  subject  through  inadvertence.  To  pervert  one's 
meaning ;  a  perverse  character.  His  versioyi  of  the  story.  To 
avert  a  blow ;  to  avert  a  misfortune.  To  convert  water  into 
steam  ;  to  convert  the  heathen.  The  stream  is  diverted  from 
its  course  ;  the  mind  is  diverted  by  recreation.  To  reverse  an 
engine  ;  the  judge  reverses  his  decision. 

In  a  similar  manner  illustrate  the  uses  of  derivatives 
from  the  following  stems  :  — 

Stem  vid,  vis.  Physical :  visible.  Mental :  provide,  provi- 
dence.    Both  uses :  vision,  divide,  evident,  provision. 

Stem  spec,  spic,  spect.  Physical :  spectacle,  spectator,  spectrum, 
specter.  Mental:  circumspect,  expect,  prospective,  respect,  retro- 
spect, speculative,  suspect,  suspicious.  Both  uses :  inspect,  i^ros- 
pect. 

Stem  ven,  vent.  Physical :  advent,  convent.  Mental :  con- 
venient, event,  invent,  prevent.     Both  uses :  convention,  invention. 

Stem  cap,  cept.  Physical :  capacious,  receipt.  Mental :  de- 
ceive, deceptive,  receptive.  Both  uses  :  capable,  captive,  perceive, 
perception,  receive,  reception. 

Stem  solv,  solut.     Physical  :  .     Mental :  solve,  dissolute, 

resolve,  resolution.     Both  uses  :  solution,  dissolve,  dissolution. 

Several  lessons  could  be  occupied  profitably  with  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  metaphorical  uses  of  words  in  a  connected 


78  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

passage  from  any  essay  or  text-book  on  psychology .  Take, 
for  instance,  such  a  passage  as  this,  from  Hamerton's 
Intellectual  Life :  — 

"The  privilege  of  limiting  their  studies  to  one  or  two 
branches  of  knowledge  belonged  to  earlier  ages,  and  every 
successive  accumulation  of  the  world's  knowledge  has  gradu- 
ally lessened  it." 

1.  Privilege.  The  original  Latin  meaning  was  "a  bill  or 
ordinance   in  favor  of  an   individual,"   a  privi-law.     In  this 

f  meaning  Chaucer  used  the  word,  jet  we  hardly  know  it  as  an 
English  use.  The  metaphor  in  our  present  use  of  it  consists 
in  the  transfer  of  meaning,  from  the  personal  advantage 
gained  by  a  particular  law,  to  the  looser  sense  of  an  advantage 
allowed,  whether  by  law  or  mere  custom  or  unofiicial  permis- 
sion, to  one  person  or  class  of  persons  as  compared  with  others. 

2.  Limiting.  This  word  is  connected  with  the  Latin  limen^ 
a  threshold.  In  its  early  use  in  English  limit  was  a  crosspath 
between  fields  ;  hence,  a  boundary.  The  word  has  simply  been 
transferred  from  the  physical  to  the  mental,  and  the  dictionary 
recognizes  both  uses,  for  that  which  is  measured  by  the  eye, 
and  for  that  which  is  measured  by  the  mind. 

3.  Studies.  The  Latin  studium  meant  zeal  or  eagerness.  The 
later  Latin  meaning,  which  was  taken  over  into  English,  can 
be  plainly  traced,  however,  to  the  earlier,  —  a  zealous  applica- 
tion of  the  mind  to  a  particular  object,  as  in  the  phrase  "Study 
to  show  yourself  approved  unto  God."  The  noun  study  has  de- 
veloped various  meanings,  —  1,  the  act ;  2,  the  thing  studied; 
3,  as  used  in  the  arts  and  in  music  (cf .  French  kude) ;  4,  a  room 
devoted  to  study. 

4.  Successive.  The  word  succeed  is  a  case  in  which  we  have 
borrowed  both  literal  and  metaphorical  meanings  from  Latin. 
The  first  meaning  was  to  go  close  up  to,  or  advance;  from  this 
comes  the  Latin  use  which  we  have  in  the  sentence,  "  The  sod 
succeeds   his   father."     Then   came   the   derived   meaning  tc 


GROWTH  AND  CHANGE  IN  MEANING  OF  WORDS        79 

advance,  in  the  sense  of  to  prosper ;  as  we  say  "  The  plan  suc> 
ceeded/'  For  these  two  meanings  we  have  distinct  adjec- 
tives :  successive  =  following,  and  successful  =  prosperous. 

5.  Accumulation.  The  Latin  word  meant  to  heap  up,  as  earth 
into  a  mound.  The  metaphor  is  a  simple  transfer  from  physi- 
cal to  mental. 

6.  Gradually.  From  Latin  gradus,  a  step.  There  was  an 
early  English  use  of  this  word,  from  Church  Latin,  for  a  book 
of  hymns  sung  on  the  steps  of  the  pulpit.  In  our  use  of 
gradual,  we  have  the  simple  transfer  of  the  first  Latin  mean- 
ing from  the  physical  to  the  mental,  —  step  =  degree. 

History  traced  in  the  Growth  of  Words.  —  It  will  readily 
be  seen  that  we  can  go  deeply  into  the  history  of  a  nation, 
and  get  an  insight  into  its  peculiar  characteristics,  simply 
by  studying  the  history  of  its  words  and  by  watching 
them  adapt  themselves  to  new  needs.  We  can  even  read 
in  words  the  actual  events  in  history.  For  instance,  the 
counties  of  England  were  formerly  divided  into  'Hun- 
dreds,' each  of  a  hundred  families.  The  division  still 
exists,  though  in  some  of  the  '  hundreds '  are  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  families,  while  others  have  scarcely  grown 
beyond  their  original  number.  In  parts  of  this  country 
settled  by  the  English,  we  find  traces  of  this  old  custom ; 
e.g.,  'Bermuda  Hundred,'  a  settlement  in  Virginia. 

This  stretching  of  an  old  name,  geographically,  has 
often  been  based  on  error,  and  kept  up  for  convenience ; 
as  in  the  case  of  our  American  natives,  called  Indians, 

Narrowing  of  Meaning. — The  growth  of  language  does 
not  always  imply  enlargement  of  meaning.  On  the  con- 
trary, a  word  may  lose  one  or  more  of  its  uses.  This  process 
is  due  mainly  to  the  influence  of  other  words  having  almost 
the  same  meaning  and  needing  to  be  distinguished.  It  be- 
longs, therefore,  to  the  chapter  on  Synonyms. 


80 


STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 


QUESTIONS   ON   CHAPTER   VI 

1.  Is  there  any  parallel  between  the  life  of  a  word  and  the 
life  of  language  in  general  ? 

2.  Give  six  meanings  of  the  word  head. 

3.  Show  how  the  meanings  are  related,  and  explain  the 
metaphor  in  each  case. 

4.  Define  Metaphor  in  general,  and  in  the  five  special  cases 
illustrated. 

5.  Give  some  original  illustrations  of  the  transfer  from 
physical  to  mental  senses. 

6.  Give  the  additional  meanings  and  idiomatic  uses  of  head. 

7.  Account  for  the  definitions  of  foot,  arm,  hand,  eye,  tongue, 
court,  set. 

8.  Why  are  the  metaphorical  meanings  in  words  of  Latin 
origin  less  evident  than  in  Saxon  words  ? 

9.  How  are  words  for  mental  and  spiritual  use  usually  de- 
veloped ? 

10.  Write  sentences,  using  words  given  in  the  table  of  Latin 
derivatives. 

11.  Eor  illustrations  of  curious  and  interesting  word-deriva- 
tions, see  the  following  words :  — 


algebra 

boudoir 

naughty 

spider 

thimble 

magnolia 

broadcloth 

aster 

amount 

dahlia 

gingham 

asterix 

buff 

fiAchsia 

damask 

dandelion 

angel 

meander 

imp 

gas 

insect 

ostracize 

academy 

squirrel 

bedlam 

squash 

nabob 

rosary 

dunce 

cathedral 

diamond 

mosaic 

jonquil 

calomel 

flute 

dactyl 

onyx 

fresco 

date 

cardinal 

Gotham,  as  humorously  applied  to  New  York 

12.    Find  some  other  examples  of  curious  derivation  among 
names  of  flowers,  gems,  and  cloths. 


GROWTH  AND  CHANGE  IN  MEANING  OF  WORDS        81 


TOPICS   IN   CONNECTION  WITH   CHAPTER   VI 

I.   A  paper  on  a  child's  learning  to  speak,  illustrating  the 
widening  of  word-meanings. 
II.    Give  results  of  research  into  the  history  of  the  follow- 
ing words :  — 


III. 


canon 

fume 

inflame 

precipitate 

spirit 

tribulation 

Presbyterian 

climax 

digress 

direct 

Methodist 

text 

strain 

distort 

Catholic 

transparent 

mass 

report 

heretic 

journal 

order 

taste 

kind 

tandem 

class 

gazette 

volume 

album 

Words  whose  changes  in 

meaning  mark  historic  facts,  - 

pagan 

cicerone 

idiot 

dunce 

villain 

pantaloon 

volume 

rubric 

civil 

pedagogue 

colossal 

infantry 

czar 

post 

IV. 


V. 


Words  whose  meaning  arose  from  error,  — 

humor  Gothic  turkey  amethyst 

melancholy     leopard  disastrous  empyrean 

Geographical  names  preserving:  facts  of  early  settlement. 
Cf.  the  large  variety  of  tow.a  and  river  names  in  the 
United  States ;  also,  especially,  the  names  of  the  states, 
Virginia^  Georgia,  Delaware,  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Carolina. 


STU.  ENG.  WORDS — 6 


CHAPTER   VII 
LATIN  AND   SAXON  ENGLISH 

Effect  of  the  Latin  and  Saxon  Elements.  —  It  is  the  pres- 
ence of  these  two  elements  in  our  English  that  makes  it 
the  rich  and  beautiful  language  it  is.  The  short,  simple, 
everyday  Saxon  words  are  like  farmers  and  shoemakers 
and  carpenters,  without  whom  a  country  could  not  get  on 
at  all ;  while  the  Latin  words  —  longer,  more  elaborate, 
and  more  scholarly  —  are  like  what  we  call  professional 
men,  who  go  more  broadly  into  abstract  questions  of 
Religion,  Science,  Art,  and  bring  a  finer  culture  to  the 
national  thought  and  taste. 

Character  of  the  Saxon  Element.  —  Most  of  the  words  of 
home  life  and  of  constant,  daily  use  are  Saxon ;  and  to 
use  Latin  for  these  things  is  not  in  good  taste.  Just 
because  these  words  have  been  dear  and  familiar  to  us 
from  childhood,  they  move  us  more  quickly  and  surely 
than  do  their  Latin  synonyms.  Almost  all  the  little 
words  that  we  have  to  use  in  common  speech  are  Saxon  : 
such  words  as  a,  an;  the^  this^  that;  and^  but,  for,  too; 
from,  hy,  with,  in,  at,  to;  who,  which,  tvhat;  I,  you,  he, 
she,  it;  most  of  our  words  for  home  life,  father,  mother, 
brother,  sister,  fire,  hearth,  are  Saxon  in  shape  and  associa- 
tion, even  when  akin  to  Latin  stems ;  the  common  verbs,  go, 
come,  run,  hurry ^  shut,  open,  find,  lose,  love,  hate,  and  the  ad- 
jectives, good,  bad,  true,  sweet,  sour,  strong,  weak,  are  Saxon. 

82 


LATIN    AND    SAXON    ENGLISH  83 

The  different  effect  of  Latin  and  Saxon  words  derived 
from  the  same  Indo-European  stem  can  be  seen  in  fatherly 
and  paternal.  These  words  have  equally  necessary  uses, — 
the  one  for  the  home,  the  other  for  legal  relations  as  well. 

Choice  between  Latin  and  Saxon  Words.  —  Some  students 
of  language  have  told  us  that,  as  a  rule,  Saxon  words  are 
better  than  Latin  words.  But,  like  most  sweeping  state- 
ments, this  needs  modifying.  The  choice  between  Latin 
and  Saxon  must  depend  on  several  things :  on  the  sub- 
ject ;  on  the  audience ;  and  on  the  aim  of  the  speaker, 
that  is,  whether  the  result  aimed  at  is  simple  or  complex. 
As  a  general  law,  Saxon  goes  straighter  to  the  heart  and 
mind,  and  so  arouses  more  directly  a  simple  idea  or  feel- 
ing ;  while  Latin  is  more  accurate  for  the  making  of  sub- 
tile distinctions,  and  more  profound  for  the  arousing  of 
deliberate  or  complex  emotion. 

Latin  the  Language  of  Exact  Science.  —  For  instance, 
those  scientists  that  tell  us  most  emphatically  that  Saxon 
words  are  better  than  Latin  find  the  need  of  Latin  words 
when  they  try  to  make  this  very  distinction  a  scientific 
and  scholarly  one.  The  Latin  words  have  been  used 
by  scientists  because  of  their  greater  exactness ;  and  to 
use  Saxon  words  in  place  of  these  accepted  Latin  terms 
would  sound  loose  and  unscientific.  The  great  advocate 
of  Saxon  words,  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  in  writing  on  Edu- 
cation, calls  one  section  ^'-Physical  Education,'"  not  '•'Up- 
bringing of  the  Body'' ;  and  a  sentence  from  this  essay 
will  show  fairly  enough  his  own  choice  of  words, — 

"  This  physical  reaction  being  certain,  the  question  is,  whether 
the  gain  resulting  from  the  extra  culture  is  equivalent  to  the 
loss ;  whether  defect  of  bodily  growth,  or  the  want  of  that 
structural  perfection  which  gives  high  vigor  and  endurance,  is 
compensated  for  by  the  additional  knowledge  gained.'' 


84  STUDY  OF  ENGLISH  WORDS 

In  this  case  there  was  good  reason  for  using  so  many 
Latin  words;  we  can  find  but  a  clumsy  Saxon  substitute 
for  the  passage,  — 

"As  an  answering  weakness  of  body  is  bound  to  follow, 
/  we  may  ask  whether  the  gain  we  get  from  that  much  more 
mind-training  makes  up  for  this  loss ;  whether  the  gain  in 
knowledge  makes  up  for  the  lack  in  bodily  growth,  or  the 
want  of  that  fulness  of  frame  which  gives  strength  and 
freshness." 

Aside  from  faults  of  translation,  the  passage  has  suf- 
fered in  two  ways.  We  miss,  first,  the  exactness  of  the 
original ;  second,  the  associations  which  make  the  scien- 
tific terms  suggestive.  Let  us  study  these  two  points 
somewhat  more  closely. 

The  Saxon  constructions  are  looser  and  wordier,  and  so 
give  to  the  ear  an  effect  of  looser  and  less  concise  think- 
ing. The  words  have  an  everyday  usage  which  is  inexact 
and  untrained,  even  variable ;  so  that  their  meaning  is 
open  to  discussion,  if  closely  questioned.  Take  the  phrase 
"  structural  perfection  "  ;  there  is  no  Saxon  word  for  per- 
fection; and  structure  in  the  scientific  sense  is  absolutely 
exact,  while  frame  might  mean  vaguely  the  outline  of  the 
bone  structure,  as  when  we  say,  "a  man  of  large  frame." 
\j  For  the  words  reaction^  resulting^  equivalent^  in  their 

scientific  meaning,  there  is  no  Saxon.  It  is  impossible  to 
give  them  accurate  definition  in  Saxon  words.  (Compare 
one  of  the  Imperial  Dictionary  definitions  of  reaction : 
"  Depression  or  exhaustion  consequent  on  excessive  ex- 
^  citement  or  stimulation.")  Again,  each  of  these  three 
words,  as  used  by  Mr.  Spencer,  is  a  host  in  itself. 
Each  calls  up  to  the  trained  mind  a  set  of  laws  which 
really  furnish   the   key  to   his   whole    argument.       This 


LATIN    AND    SAXON    ENGLISH  85 

force  is  lost  when  Saxon  synonyms  are  used.  Accord- 
ingly we  may  say  that  when  a  scientist  is  speaking  of 
scientific  subjects  to  scientifically  trained  minds,  it  is 
his  wisest  economy  of  language  to  use  Latin  terms. 
And  if,  for  the  sake  of  reaching  untrained  minds,  he 
uses  Saxon  words,  it  is  at  the  cost  of  exactness  and  force. 

The  choice,  we  repeat,  between  Latin  and  Saxon  words, 
depends  on  the  class  of  subject,  on  the  intelligence  of  the 
hearer,  and  on  the  aim  of  the  speaker.  Mr.  Spencer, 
writing  on  a  scientific  subject,  appealing  mainly  to  trained 
minds,  with  a  view  to  argumentative  persuasion  and  con- 
clusion, made  wise  choice  of  Latin. 

Proper  Use  of  Saxon  Words.  —  Let  us  now  look  at  an 
equally  wise  choice  of  Saxon,  from  a  poem  of  Sidney 
Lanier's.  The  writer's  wish  here  is  to  arouse  a  feeling 
which,  though  vast  and  deep,  is  perfectly  simple :  — 

^'  As  the  marsh-hen  secretly  builds  on  the  watery  sod, 
Behold,  I  will  build  me  a  nest  on  the  greatness  of  God ; 
I  will  fly  in  the  greatness  of  God,  as  the  marsh-hen  flies 
In  the  freedom  that  fills  all  the  space  'twixt  the  marsh  and 

the  skies ; 
By  so  many  roots  as  the  marsh-grass  sends  in  the  sod, 
I  will  heartily  lay  me  ahold  on  the  greatness  of  God." 

Put  this  picturesque  and  musical  Saxon  into  Latin  (we 
will  not  go  so  far  as  to  give  the  hen  her  scientific  name) 
and  the  passage  is  ruined :  — 

"  As  the  marsh-hen  constructs  her  abode  on  the  aqueous  sod, 
Observe,  I  my  nest  will  erect  on  the  power  of  God." 

The  words,  construct^  aqueous^  observe^  power^  erects  are 
not  voluminous  words  ;  they  are  simple  enough  and  easily 
understood.     But  they  are  contemplative,  mental  words, 


86  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

fitted  to  a  scientific  narrative;  not  sympathetic,  picturesque 
words,  playing  upon  the  imagination  and  the  heart. 

In  the  present  century,  Tennyson  is  the  great  master  of 
the  music  of  Saxon  words  ;  study  this  passage  from  In 
Memoriam :  — 

"  This  truth  came  born  with  bier  and  pall, 
I  felt  it  when  I  sorrowed  most, 
'Tis  better  to  have  loved  and  lost, 
Than  never  to  have  loved  at  all. 

"  But  I  remained,  whose  hopes  were  dim, 
Whose  life,  whose  thoughts,  were  little  worth, 
To  wander  on  a  darkened  earth. 
Where  all  things  round  me  breathed  of  him.'' 

Proportion  of  Latin  and  Saxon  Vocabulary  at  Different 
Periods.  —  The  proportion  of  Latin  and  Saxon  English  to 
be  found  in  representative  writers,  differs  very  markedly 
at  various  periods  of  the  history  of  the  language.  In  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  as  represented  by 
Milton  and  Samuel  Johnson,  and  even  in  the  earlier  half 
of  the  nineteenth,  as  represented  by  Macaulay,  the  pre- 
ponderance of  Greek  and  Latin  in  a  gentleman's  education 
is  naturally  shown  in  the  Latin-English  style  thus  devel- 
oped. But  in  the  last  few  decades,  there  has  been  devel- 
oped a  tendency  toward  the  use  of  "good  Saxon."  We 
have  spoken  of  the  fact  that  the  scientific  terminology  is 
largely  Latin;  yet,  as  a  class,  men  trained  in  the  natural 
sciences,  use  a  simpler  English  than  do  men  trained  in  the 
classics  ;  and,  setting  aside  the  technical  terms,  about 
which  scientists  have  no  choice,  or  a  difficult  one,  we  find 
a  more  purely  Saxon  English  in  essays  on  scientific  sub- 
jects than  in  literary  and  critical  essays.     Many  of  the 


LATIN   AND   SAXON   ENGLISH  87 

latest  writers  of  general  literature,  however,  recognize  the 
value  of  a  Saxon  vocabulary  in  securing  the  charm  and 
force  of  simplicity,  wherever  simplicity  is  possible. 


Illustrations  of  English,  to  be  studied  with  Reference  to 
Latin  and  Saxon  Wording.     (See  Question  11,  page  92) 

Let  us  examine  some  passages  from  English  writers,  of 
different  periods  and  in  different  fields,  with  reference  to 
this  use  of  Latin  or  Saxon  English,  remembering  to  take 
into  account  always  (1)  the  character  of  the  theme; 
(2)  the  fashion  of  the  writer's  age.  For  an  English  that 
would  in  a  scientific  work  be  strongly  Saxon,  might  in  a 
poem  on  Nature  be  unduly  Latin.  And  an  essay  that  in 
the  seventeenth  century  would  be  markedly  Saxon,  might 
now  strike  us  as  characteristically  Latin. 

1.  The  Exhortation,  inserted  in  the  Morning  and 
Evening  Prayer  of  the  Prayer  Book  of  1552.  Here 
the  choice  between  Latin  and  Saxon  words  is  given,  the 
more  learned  word  for  the  more  learned  classes,  the 
simpler  for  the  simpler :  — 

"  Dearly  beloved  brethren,  the  scripture  moveth  us  in 
sundry  places,  to  acknoivledge  and  confess  our  manifold  sins 
and  wickedness,  .  .  .  and  that  we  should  not  dissemble  nor 
cloak  them;  .  .  .  yet  ought  we  chiefly  so  to  do,  when  we 
assemble  and  meet  together. ^^ 

2.  Shakespeare  (1564-1616)  —  Julius  Caesar:  — 

"  Thus,  Brutus,  did  my  master  bid  me  kneel ; 
Thus  did  Mark  Antony  bid  me  fall  down ; 
And,  being  prostrate,  thus  he  bade  me  say : 
Brutus  is  noble,  wise,  valiant,  and  honest ; 
Caesar  was  mighty,  bold,  royal,  and  loving." 


88  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

3.  Bacon  (1560-1626)  —  Friendship  :  — 

'^  But  little  do  men  perceive  what  solitude  is,  and  how  far  it 
extendeth;  for  a  crowd  is  not  company,  and  faces  are  but  a 
gallery  of  pictures,  and  talk  but  a  tinkling  cymbal,  where 
there  is  no  love.  The  Latin  adage  meeteth  with  it  a  little, 
*  Magna  civitas,  magna  soUtudoJ  " 

4.  Sir  Thomas  Browne  (1605-1682)  — Z7m  Burial:  — 

"  Many  have  taken  voluminous  pains  to  determine  the  state 
of  the  soul  upon  disunion ;  but  men  have  been  most  phantasti- 
cal  in  the  singular  contrivances  of  their  corporal  dissolution; 
whilst  the  soberest  nations  have  rested  in  two  ways,  of  simple 
inhumation  and  burning." 

5.  Milton  (1Q08-161 4:)— Li/cidas:  — 

"  For  we  were  nursed  upon  the  selfsame  hill ; 
Fed  the  same  flock  by  fountain,  shade,  and  rill ; 
Together  both,  ere  the  high  lawns  appeared 
Under  the  opening  eyelids  of  the  morn. 
We  drove  afield,  and  both  together  heard 
What  time  the  gray-fly  winds  her  sultry  horn, 
Batt'ning  our  flocks  with  the  fresh  dews  of  night. 
Oft,  till  the  star  that  rose,  at  evening,  bright. 
Toward  heav'n's  descent  had  sloped  his  westering  wheel." 

Paradise  Lost :  —  ,,  Meanwhile  the  Son 

On  his  great  expedition  now  appeared. 
Girt  with  omnipotence,  with  radiance  crowned 
Of  Majesty  divine,  sapience  and  love 
Immense." 

6.  Bunyan  (1628-1688) — Pilgrim's  Progress: — 

"  So  I  saw  that  Christian  went  on  his  way ;  yet,  at  the  sight 
of  the  old  man  that  sat  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  he  could  not 
tell  what  to  think,  especially  because  he  spoke  to  him,  though 


LATIN   AND   SAXON   ENGLISH  89 

he  could  not  go  after  him,  saying,  ^  You  will  never  mend  till 
more  of  you  be  burned.'  '^ 

7.  Addison  (1672-1719)— /Spec^a^or,  1710.  (Spoken 
of  by  the  two  writers  next  quoted,  Franklin  and  Johnson, 
as  a  model  in  the  use  of  pure  English) :  — 

"  I  have  observed  that  a  reader  seldom  peruses  a  book  with 
pleasure,  till  he  knows  whether  the  writer  of  it  be  a  black  or 
a  fair  man,  of  a  mild  or  choleric  disposition,  married  or  a 
bachelor,  with  other  particularities  of  the  lik6  nature,  that  con- 
duce very  much  to  the  right  understanding  of  an  author." 

8.  Benjamin  Franklin  (1706-1790)  — Autobiography:  — 

"Dr.  Bond  visited  me  and  gave  me  an  account  of  the  pains 
he  had  taken  to  spread  a  general  good  liking  to  the  law,  and 
ascribed  much  to  those  endeavours.  I  had  the  vanity  to 
ascribe  all  to  my  Dialogue.  However,  not  knowing  but  that 
he  might  be  in  the  right,  I  let  him  enjoy  his  opinion,  which  I 
take  to  be  generally  the  best  in  such  cases." 

9.  Samuel  Johnson  (1709-1784)  —  Ori  ''Julius  Oae- 
sar'\' — 

"  Of  this  tragedy  many  particular  passages  deserve  regard, 
and  the  contention  and  reconcilement  of  Brutus  and  Cassius 
is  universally  celebrated;  but  I  have  never  been  strongly 
agitated  in  perusing  it,  and  think  it  somewhat  cold  and  un- 
affecting,  compared  with  some  other  of  •  Shakespeare's  plays ; 
his  adherence  to  the  real  story,  and  to  the  Eoman  manners, 
seems  to  have  impeded  the  natural  vigor  of  his  genius." 

10.  Carlyle  (1795-1881)  — A^ar^or  Resartus,  1833  :  — 

"  Between  vague,  wavering  Capability  and  fixed,  indubijable 
Performance,  what  a  difference !  A  certain  inarticulate  Self- 
consciousness  dwells  dimly  in  us  j  which  only  our  Works  can 


90  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH    WORDS 

render  articulate  and  decisively  disceriiible.  Our  Works  are 
the  mirror  wherein  the  spirit  first  sees  its  natural  lineaments. 
Hence,  too,  the  folly  of  that  impossible  Precept,  Know  thyself; 
till  it  be  translated  into  this  partially  possible  one,  Know  what 
thou  canst  work  at.'' 

"  And  then  to  fancy  the  fair  castles,  that  stood  sheltered  in 
these  Mountain  hollows ;  with  their  green  flower  lawns,  and 
white  dames  and  damsels,  lovely  enough;  or  better  still,  the 
straw-roofed  cottages,  wherein  stood  many  a  Mother  baking 
bread,  with  her  children  round  her." 

11.  Macaulay  (lS00-lS59)  —  Ristort/  of  England:  — 

"  I  shall  relate  how  under  that  settlement,  the  authority  of 
J        law  and  the  security  of  property  were  found  to  bejcompatible 
with  a  liberty  of   discussion  and  of  individual  action  never 
before  known.*'  "^ 

12.  Emerson  (imi^\^^2^  —  Friendship : — 

"  We  have  a  great  deal  more  kindness  than  is  ever  spoken. 
Maugre  all  the  selfishness  that  chills  like  east  winds  the 
world,  the  whole  human  family  is  bathed  with  an  element  of 
love  like  a  fine  ether.  How  many  persons  we  meet  in  houses, 
whom  we  scarcely  speak  to,  whom  yet  we  honor,  and  who 
honor  us !  How  many  we  see  in  the  street,  or  sit  with  in 
church,  whom,  though  silently,  we  warmly  rejoice  to  be  with  ! 
Read  the  language  of  these  wandering  eye-beams.  The  heart 
knoweth." 

Living  Writers 

13.  Henry  James,  Jr.  — Niagara : — 

"  In  the  matter  of  line,  it  beats  Michael  Angelo.  One  may 
seem  at  first  to  say  the  least,  but  the  careful  observer  will 
admit  that  one  says  the  most,  in  saying  that  it  pleases  — 
pleases  even  a  spectator  who  was  not  ashamed  to  write  the 
other  day  that  he  didn't  care  for  cataracts." 


LATIN   AND   SAXON  ENGLISH  91 

14.  William  Dean  Howells —  Venetian  Life:  — 

"At  home  it  sometimes  seems  that  we  are  in  such  haste  to 
live  and  be  done  with  it  we  have  no  time  to  be  polite.  Or  is 
it  altogether  better  to  be  rude  ?     I  wish  it  were  not." 

15.  Rudyard  Kipling  —  On  India :  — 

"  There  is  a  want  of  atmosphere  in  the  painter's  sense. 
There  are  no  half-truths  worth  noticing.  Men  stand  out  all 
crude  and  raw,  with  nothing  to  tone  them  down,  and  nothing 
to  scale  them  against.  They  do  their  work^  and  grow  to  think 
that  there  is  nothing  but  their  work,  and  that  they  are  the  real 
pivots  on  which  the  administration  turns." 

16.  Richard  Watson  Gilder :  — 

"  I  light  the  sea  and  wake  the  sleeping  land, 
My  footsteps  on  the  hills  make  music,  and  my  hand 
Plays  like  a  harper's  on  the  wind-swept  pines." 


QUESTIONS   ON  CHAPTER  VII 

1.  Compare  the  values  of  Latin  and  Saxon  English. 

2.  Which  gives  us  the  words  of  home  life  ?    Give  examples. 

3.  Compare  the  words  fatherly  and  paternal,  with  reference 
to  origin  and  use. 

4.  On  what  three  points  depends  the  choice  between  Latin 
and  Saxon  words  ? 

5.  What  is  ^he  general  distinction  ? 

6.  In  what  two  ways  does  the  passage  from  Mr.  Spencer 
suffer,  when  we  have  replaced  the  Latin  by  Saxon  ? 

7.  Explain  this  loss,  in  detail. 

^.  Again,  what  is  lost  in  changing  the  given  bit  of  poetry 
from  its  Saxon  into  Latin  ? 

9.  How  does  the  proportion  of  the  Latin  and  Saxon  ele- 
ments vary  with  the  different  periods  of  English  writing  ? 


92  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

10.  How  do  scientists  compare  with  literary,  writers  in  this 
respect  ? 

11.  Study  of  Specimen  Passages. 

(a)  How  is  the  English  Prayer  Book  adapted  to  the 

learned  and  the  unlearned  ? 

(b)  Look  up,  in  Webster's  International  Dictionary,  the 

important  words  of  each  selection. 

(c)  Compare  the  proportion  of  Latin  and  Saxon  words 

in  each  selection  with  that  in  some  other  selection ; 
either  choosing  the  next  in  time,  or  one  of  a  similar 
style  and  purpose. 

(d)  Where  two  selections  are  made  from  the  same  author, 

notice  the  contrast  between  them  in  this  propor- 
tion of  Latin  and  Saxon,  and  explain  it. 

(Much  study  should  be  given  to  these  passages,  and  some  of 
the  more  marked  ones  should  be  followed  up,  by  a  week's 
lessons  on  the  author's  characteristic  work.  If  the  proportion 
of  Latin  and  Saxon  is  expressed  numerically,  by  actual  count- 
ing of  the  words,  the  pupil  must  guard  against  thinking  the 
statement  accurate  or  final  when  the  research  has  necessarily 
been  limited.  The  results  may,  however,  be  accurate  enough 
for  general  comparison.) 

TOPICS  IN  CONNECTION   WITH  CHAPTER  VII 

I.   Eobert  Louis  Stevenson's  English. 

II.    Comparison  of  the  histories  of  Motley  and  Mr.  John  Fiske, 
as  regards  Latin  and  Saxon  words,  with  study  of  effect 
in  each. 
III.   Exercise :  An  original  essay  on  any  topic,  written  in  two 
versions,  one  as  Latin,  the  other  as  Saxon,  as  possible. 


b 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE  ARTIST'S  AND   THE   SCIENTIST'S   USE   OF  WORDS 

Association  of  Words.  —  It  has  been  shown  that  a  word 
may  have  two  sets  of  meanings,  the  physical  and  the 
spiritual.  In  the  use  of  words,  there  is  another  double 
significance  which,  if  well  understood,  gives  a  twofold 
power  to  language.  The  two  elements  of  this  double 
significance  are,  (1)  the  dictionary  definition  of  a  word; 
(2)  the  associations  of  a  word. 

For  instance,  stepmother  has  a  definite  dictionary  mean- 
ing, quite  colorless,  representing  a  legal  relationship  ;  but 
to  our  minds  the  word  is  so  highly  colored  by  association 
that  it  is  difficult  not  to  connect  it  with  the  type  of  step- 
mother with  which  we  are  familiar  in  the  story  of  Cin- 
derella. And  if  we  wish  to  explain  that  a  particular 
second  wife  is  not  so  unkind  to  her  husband's  children, 
we  may  say,  ''  She  is  not  a  stepmother  at  all !  "  Here 
the  word  is  clearly  not  used  in  its  strict  dictionary  sense. 

In  general,  we  may  say  that  a  word  brings  to  our 
minds  — 

1.  The  essential  properties  that  always  and  necessarily 

belong  to  the  thing. 

2.  The  accidental  attributes  that  usually  accompany  these 
properties. 

The  first  element  is  invariable,  and  so  is  depended  upon 
by  the  scientist.     The  second  is  variable,  resulting  from 


94  STUDY    OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

experience,  and  so  coming  home  to  the  feelings  and 
imagination  of  each  man  more  personally ;  upon  this 
appeal  to  the  feelings  the  artist,  especially  the  poet,  de- 
pends. 

As  a  homely  example,  the  names  of  the  months  have  an 
invariable  scientific  value,  as  fixed  divisions  of  time ;  they 
have  also  a  variable  associative  value  to  large  classes  of 
people  :  March  means  bluster,  June  means  midsummer 
sunshine,  November  means  Thanksgiving.  This  associ- 
ative value  a  poet  uses,  when  he  suggests  that  the  "  June 
of  life  "had  come  to  a  bride  ;  or  a  story  writer,  when  he 
puts  his  story  in  a  setting  of  a  country  "June  morning." 
Yet  to  a  New  Zealander,  June  suggests  the  slight  frosts 
of  their  midwinter,  though  the  name  June  still  belongs  to 
the  month  scientifically* 

A  still  more  prosaic  example  we  may  find  in  the  days 
of  the  week.  Scientifically,  these  names,  Sunday^  Monday^ 
mean  only  the  place  each  day  holds  in  the  fixed  order  of 
the  seven.  By  association,  to  one  class  of  people,  Monday 
\j  is  "  Wash  day,".  Saturday  "  Baking  day  "  ;  to  another, 
Monday  is  "School  again,"  Saturday  "Holiday";  to 
another,  Monday  is  "  Work-again,"  Saturday  "  Pay- 
day." These  associations  have  in  our  minds  entirely 
replaced  the  associations  which  named  the  days;  Satur- 
day no  longer  means  to  anybody  Saturn-Day. 

No  one  can  now  speak  of  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York, 
without  suggesting  to  people  in  general  something  more 
than  the  avenue  between  Fourth  and  Sixth. 

If   you   say,  "  He's   a   clever  little   chap,"  there   is   a 

humorous  affectionateness  implied  in  the  word  chap  not 

to  be  found  in  the  word  hoy  (which  is  more   colorless, 

and  suggests  the  dictionary  definition  of  a  young  male 

\J      liuman  l)eing).      Imagination  plays  upon  the  words  little 


ARTIST'S   AND   SCIENTIST'S   USE   OF   WORDS  95 

chap,  and  we  think  the  speaker  is  fond  of  children, 
perhaps  has  some  of  his  own. 

Value  of  the  Associative  Element.  —  The  management  of 
this  associative  power  in  words  is  of  the  very  greatest 
importance.  It  is  because  associations  have  somewhat 
ol:  the  variable  quality  of  human  experience  and  human 
mood,  that  in  the  hands  of  a  great  artist  they  can  be- 
come so  subtle  and  penetrate  to  so  fine  issues  ;  for  a 
Shakespeare  discerns  that  which  is  vital  in  them,  and 
so  speaks  to  a  universal  experience,  —  understanding 
just  how  long  to  count  on  feeling  and  fancy,  and  stimu- 
lating without  tiring  these.  He  does  not  simply  rely 
on  the  word  for  its  full  dictionary  value,  but  he  leads 
the  thought  of  the  reader  to  a  point  where  he  may 
see  in  the  word  the  color  needed  for  the  effect  desired. 

What  is  called  oratory  depends  for  its  persuasive  power 
on  just  this  management  of  the  associative  value  of  words. 
For  example,  study  Antony's  speech  in  Julius  Caesar, 
The  power  of  this  appeal  to  the  people  lies  largely  in  the 
associations  popularly  connected  with  the  word  ambitious. 
Brutus  may  have  reasoned  that  Caesar  "  would  be  king," 
thinking  of  the  scientific  fact,  that  this  ambition  would 
lead  to  certain  political  issues.  But  Antony,  playing 
upon  the  popular  associations  with  ambition^  draws  the 
contrast  between  the  robbery  of  their  money  that  they 
would  expect  from  this  man  of  whom  Brutus  said  '-'•  he 
was  ambitious,"  and  the  public  bequests  of  Caesar's  will. 
Antony  arouses  the  prejudices  of  the  people,  then  shows 
how  these  must  fail  if  directed  against  Caesar,  and,  by  a 
subtle  move,  turns  them  against  Brutus,  this  time  by  the 
associations  connected  with  the  phrase  ''so  honorable  (?)  a 
man"  ;  i.e.,  he  rouses  their  scorn  of  a  dishonorable  friend. 
Here,  evidently,  honorable  is  not  used  merely  with  diction- 


96  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

ary  value,  but  by  the  skill  of  the  orator  is  made  equivalent 
to  dishonorable. 

In  the  smaller  uses  of  life,  this  management  of  associa- 
tive values  in  words  is  half  the  battle  in  situations  calling 
for  tact  in  speech.  By  understanding  this  power,  one 
may  avoid  the  petty  brutalities  of  thoughtless  speech,  and 
raise  what  would  otherwise  be  careless,  ungoverned  talk 
to  the  dignity  of  an  Art. 

A  humorous  turn,  too,  may  be  given  to  a  disagreeable 
trait  or  situation,  by  the  use  of  a  word  that  has  humorous 
associations.  This  may  be  done  to  bring  a  sordid  fact 
within  the  pale  of  art,  as  when  Du  Maurier  says,  "Oh, 
happy  times  of  careless  impecuniosity  !  "  giving  us  pathos 
instead  of  the  blank  wretchedness  of  poverty ;  or,  it  may 
be  used  in  actual  life,  to  brighten  dull  facts  and  soften 
hard  ones, — and  this  art  of  words  may  be  half  the  art  of 
living. 

The  choice  between  words  of  about  the  same  meaning 
often  turns  on  their  associative  value.  This  will  be  seen 
more  fully  in  the  next  chapter,  on  Synonyms. 

QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  VHI 

1.  In  what  does  the  twofold  significance  of  a  word  consist  ? 

2.  Illustrate  by  the  word  stepmother. 

3.  Define  the  two  elements  of  word  suggestions. 

4.  Illustrate  by  the  names  of  the  months,  and  of  the  days 
of  the  week. 

5.  Illustrate  how  so  colorless  a  word  as  a  mere  number  (as 
"  Fifth  "  Avenue)  may  accumulate  associations. 

6.  What  is  the  associative  value  of  chap  as  compared  with 
hoy  9 

7.  How  does  such  an  artist  as  Shakespeare  make  us  feel  a 
word's  associative  value  ? 


ARTIST'S   AND   SCIENTIST'S   USE   OF  WORDS  97 

8.  Illustrate  the  effectiveness  of  this  in  oratory. 

9.  Explain  the  use  of  associations  in  humorous  phrases. 

10.  Illustrate  the  dependence  of  some  witticisms  upon  word 
■  associations. 

11.  What  associations  (humorous,  scornful,  poetic)  are  con- 
nected with  the  following  words,  governing  their  use  ?  — 

old  maid,  kine  (as  compared  with  cattle),  sweat, 
felloiv,  irrepressible  (rarely  used  seriously),  animal, 

TOPICS   IN  CONNECTION   WITH   CHAPTER   VIII 

I.  Associations  of  certain  words  because  of  which  they  are 
used  only  in  poetry. 
II.  Change  of  word  for  the  sake  of  avoiding  unpleasant  asso- 
ciations. (Compare  the  use  of  the  comparative  degree 
to  avoid  the  abruptness  of  the  positive :  "  It  is  hard  for 
older  men,"  instead  of  "  It  is  hard  for  old  men.") 

III.  Demoralizing  effect  of  softening  phrases  for  evil  conduct. 

IV.  Exercise :  Illustrate  associative  values  by  other  words, 
similar  to  the  names  of  the  months  as  given.  Many 
simple  examples  may  be  drawn  from  daily  life. 

BTU.  ENG.  WORDS  —  7 


CHAPTER   IX 

SYNONYMS 

Meaning.  —  If  words  are  enough  alike  in  meaning  to  be 
used  interchangeably,  we  may  call  them  Synonyms. 

For  almost  every  idea,  we  have  in  our  language  more 
than  one  word.  To  give  tlie  idea  just  the  shade  we  wish 
for  it,  we  must  choose  from  a  group  of  synonyms  the  one 
best  word.  This  choice  depends  on  three  points  already 
sxamined :  — 

1.  Derivation,  Latin  or  Saxon  (Chapter  VII). 

2.  The  meanings  through  which  the  word  has  passed 
^'Chapter  VI). 

3.  Associations  (Chapter  VIII). 

The  choice  between  Latin  and  Saxon  synonyms  has 
already  been  discussed.  The  two  points  now  to  be  con- 
sidered are  then  the  Past  and  the  Present  of  a  word. 
We  must  know  both,  before  we  can  use  the  word  intel- 
ligently. The  two  are  not  always,  however,  in  harmony; 
when  they  conflict,  present  associations  must  decide  our 
choice. 

For  example,  the  word  preMy  had  in  Middle  English 
the  sense  tricky ;  this  meaning  is  now  quite  lost,  and  the 
word  now  means  physically  attractive.  Cunning  meant 
originally  knowing,,  skillful ;  from  this  meaning,  two  others 
have  been  adopted  by  good  usage,  tricky  (the  original 
meaning  of  pretty)  and  tvinsome.     The  purist  that  rejects 

98 


SYNONYMS  99 

the  second  meaning  should  logically  reject  the  first,  as 
also  the  present  use  of  pretty. 

As  a  rule,  however,  the  derivation  is  a  better  guide  to 
present  usage  than  in  that  case^ 

For  example,  adore^  dote  on. 

To  say  one  "  adores  "  kittens  is  at  once  shown  to  be  a 
false  use  of  the  word,  when  we  know  that  the  Latin 
adorare  meant  to  pray  to ;  the  present  usage  follows  this 
derivation,  and  the  word  is  properly  kept  for  the  most 
sacred  associations.  To  dote  on  kittens  is  the  fitting  ex- 
pression, for  the  original  meaning  of  the  word  implies 
an  innocent  but  trivial  fondness,  such  as  is  seen  in  the 
stronger  word,  dotage. 

We  have,  then, — to  review  this  point, — for  almost 
every  word  we  use,  the  choice  among  a  group  of  syno- 
nyms ;  and  in  choosing,  we  must  consider :  1.  What  each 
word  means  by  derivation ;  2.  Whether  the  present  asso- 
ciations uphold  the  derivative  distinctions. 

On  these  two  principles,  let  us  examine  some  groups  of 
synonyms :  — 

Affable,  accessible,  courteous,  civil,  benign.  Affable  means  by 
derivation  to-be-spoken-to.  This  derivative  meaning  governs  our 
use  of  the  word,  for  we  do  not  properly  apply  it  to  men  in 
general,  but  to  persons  of  rank,  who  grant  such  approach  as  a 
privilege.  A  man  of  high  position  is  affable  when  he  gives  us 
an  access  to  him  not  our  due.  We  may  say  that  he  is  accessible  ; 
but  this  word  means  to-be-reached,  and  has  a  special  suitability 
to  a  mountain,  or  an  island,  in  the  physical  sense  of  reaching. 
Courteous  is  of  the  court,  while  civil  is  of  the  city.  Civil  means 
simply  with  the  corners  rubbed  off  by  contact  with  men, — with 
manners  formed  to  suit  the  formal  life  of  a  town.  So  we  may 
say  that  a  servant  is  civil,  because  his  manner  is  formed  to  his 
office ;  but  we  say  of  a  gentleman  that  he  is  courteous  to  a  lady. 


100  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

Benign  meant  originally  well-born,  and  is  used  of  the  kindness 
and  condescension  from  the  higher  to  the  lower,  associated  with 
nobility.  In  this  group,  we  have  found  present  association 
almost  exactly  determined  by  derivation. 

Awful,  fearful,  dreadful,  terrible,  horrible.  In  this  group,  the 
ending  -ful  marks  the  first  three  as  Saxon,  the  ending  -ible, 
the  others  as  Latin.  The  suffixes  may  be  dropped,  for  our 
purpose,  and  the  nouns  that  call  for  discrimination  are  awe, 
fear,  dread,  terror,  horror.  The  original  meaning  of  awe  was 
choking.  Fear  was  first  used  of  the  peril  of  travel.  Terror 
meant  tremhling ;  horror,  a  bristling  of  the  hair.  These  deriva- 
tions, while  they  do  not  accurately  define  our  present  usage, 
give  it  invaluable  color.  Awe  may  be  felt  in  the  presence  of 
what  is  vast,  whether  good  or  evil,  while  we  use  horror  only 
of  evil ;  so  we  "  choke  '^  when  reading  of  a  magnanimous  deed, 
while  our  "hair  bristles"  only  when  there  is  an  element  of 
threatened  evil.  Dread  used  to  have  a  graver  sense,  as  we  find 
it  used  in  religious  literature ;  the  ordinary  present  idea  of  it  is 
simply  of  a  strong  personal  fear,  as  a  child's  "dread  of  the 
dark."  While  we  usually  associate  fear  with  evil,  there  is 
the  Biblical  use  of  it  in  the  sense  of  reverence  and  worship, 
as  in  the  sentence,  "  They  hated  knowledge  and  did  not  choose 
the  fear  of  the  Lord."  Fear  has  the  widest  range  of  all  five 
words,  being  applied  to  things  large  or  small.  Tensor  is  an 
extreme  degree  of  fear;  one  may  have  a  fear  of  getting  his 
feet  wet,  but  he  has  a  terror  of  the  consequences  of  some  grave 
crime. 

Love,  like,  enjoy,  incline,  pleased,  content,  satisfied.  The  fitting 
use  of  the  word  love  is  determined  by  association.  If  we  are  to 
keep  it  for  the  higher  attachments,  we  must  not  vulgarize  it ; 
the  word  is  cheapened  at  once  when  we  "  love  "  potatoes.  To 
like  is  found  in  Middle  English  as  an  impersonal,  liketh^  =  it  is 
like  or  suitable  for;  this  suitableness  is  still  the  prominent 
idea ;  one  likes  what  fits  his  taste.  To  enjoy  is  to  joy  in,  and 
expresses  a  livelier  feeling  than  mere  liking,  —  a  more  positive 


SYNONYMS  101 

pleasure.  To  incline  to  is  to  lean  to,  and  has  an  idea  of  com- 
parison in  it;  one  seems  to  stand  between  two  things,  and  to 
lean  away  from  one  thing  toward  the  other.  To  please  is  allied, 
in  its  Latin  original,  with  the  word  to  appease  (as  an  enemy  or 
an  offended  divinity) ;  this  may  give  us  the  special  sense  of  it 
as  a  condescension,  as  a  person  is  usually  "  pleased "  with  an 
inferior.  To  be  content  is  from  a  Latin  word  meaning  to  hold 
together,  and  suggests  that  what  a  man  has  corresponds  to  what 
he  wishes,  or  that  he  holds  together  and  restrains  his  desires. 
To  be  satisfied  also  means  to  have  enough;  a  man  is  said  to  be 
content  if  he  has  voluntarily  limited  his  desires  to  his  condition ; 
he  is  satisfied  if  he  has  not  been  obliged  so  to  check  his  desires, 
but  has  had  them  fully  met. 

Invent,  discover.  To  invent  is  to  come  upon  in  thought;  to 
discover  is  to  uncover,  reveal  The  distinction  is  that  a  thing 
discovered  existed  before  the  discovery :  as  "  to  discover  Amer- 
ica '' ;  to  invent  is  used  of  a  thing  or  combination  first  existent 
or  "hit  upon'^  in  our  minds ;  as  "  to  invent  a  new  machine." 

Leisure,  idleness.  Leisure  and  idleness  both  mean  free,  un- 
employed time;  but  leisure  is  used  of  time  not  exacted  by  a 
regular  employment  or  business  ;  while  idleness  means  actually 
doing  nothing  (from  a  Saxon  word  meaning  empty).  So  a 
business  man  may  write  a  book  in  his  leisure  hours,  but  these 
hours  could  not  be  called  idle. 

Lease,  hire.  To  lease,  from  a  French  word,  laisser,  is  used  of 
the  person  to  whom  a  property  belongs.  To  hire  (from  the 
Saxon)  is  used  of  the  person  to  whom  the  property  is  let  for  a 
season. 

Custom,  habit.  Rabit  (Latin  habeo,  to  have)  is  that  which  is 
held  or  retained,  acquired  by  long  custom.  Custom  (French 
coutume,  cf.  Latin  consuetus,  used)  is  an  established  practice 
either  of  a  man  or  of  a  community.  It  is  thus  a  more  general 
word  than  habit,  and  has  a  more  definite  meaning.  We  speak 
ot  any  common  vagary  of  a  child,  such  as  sucking  the  thumb, 
as  a  habit;  while  there  are  American  and  European  customs. 


102  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

Enough,  sufficient.  One  of  the  distinctions  between  these 
words  is  that  already  spoken  of,  as  the  difference  between  the 
\  dignified,  colder  Latin  and  the  warm,  homely  Saxon.  Sufficient 
(Latin,  sufficiens  =  putting  under,  supplying,  i.e.,  meeting  our 
wants)  means  what  is  adequate  to  needs.  Enough  means  what 
gives  us  the  feeling  of  gratified  wish,  —  plenty. 

Hinder,  prevent.  Hinder  (from  Anglo-Saxon,  to  keep  back) 
v/  means  to  block,  obstruct.  Prevent  (Latin  praevenio,  to  go 
before,  anticipate)  means  to  get  ahead  of,  and  is  oftener  used 
in  a  good  sense  than  hinder.  We  prevent  disease  by  fore- 
thought;   we  hinder  progress. 

Character,  reputation.  Character  (from  the  Greek)  means 
that  which  marks  or  distinguishes,  and  covers  the  essential 
qualities  of  a  man.  Reputation  (Latin  puto,  to  think)  means 
what  is  thought  of  him,  and  may  be  a  true  sign  of  character 
or  otherwise. 

Vice,  crime.  These  are  both  from  the  Latin  (vitiiinfi,  a  blem- 
ish ;  crimen,  a  crime).  They  both  mean  wrongdoing,  but  vice 
refers  to  personal  habit  which  cannot  be  touched  by  human 
law,  until  some  outward  evil  act,  or  crime,  is  committed. 

Artist,  artisan.  These  are  from  the  same  Latin  word  {ars, 
art)  ;  artist  is  used  of  a  worker  in  the  fine  arts,  —  music,  paint- 
ing, poetry  ;  an  artisan  is  a  mechanical  laborer. 

Certain,  sure.  Certain  (Latin  certus)  means  decreed,  estab- 
lished; sure  (Latin  securus)  means  safe.  Certain  is  used  more 
of  the  mind,  and  sure  of  the  feelings.  You  may  be  certain  of 
a  fact,  but  sure  of  a  friend. 

Allow,  permit.  Allow  (from  the  French)  and  permit  (Latin 
permitto)  both  mean  to  give  leave.  Permit  may  be  used  of 
impersonal  agents  ("  my  health  does  not  permit,"  "  time  per- 
mits ")  r  allow  should  be  used  only  of  persons. 

Empty,  vacant.  Empty  (from  the  Saxon)  means  actually 
containing  nothing;  vacant  means  deprived  of  an  occupant. 
A  furnished  house  may  be  vacant,  but  cannot  be  empty. 

Kill,  murder.     To  Mil  means  simply  to  take  life.     Murder 


SYNONYMS  108 

means  the  wrongful  taking  of  human  life;  any  other  use  of 
the  word  is  metaphorical. 

Hope,  expect.  To  expect  is  to  look  for  something  —  whether 
good  or  evil  —  with  confidence  that  it  will  come.  To  hope  is 
to  wish  ardently  that  a  thing  may  come,  feeling  partially  sure 
of  it.  We  may  expect  a  calamity,  but  we  hope  for  even  what 
seems  unattainable  if  it  is  desirable. 

Knowledge,  wisdom.  These  are  Saxon  words,  of  simple 
meaning.  Knowledge  is  of  the  mind  principally,  and  means 
information.  Wisdom  is  of  the  life  and  experience,  and  means 
ripeness  of  character. 

Convince,  persuade.  To  convince  (Latin  convinco,  to  conquer) 
is  to  triumph  in  an  argument,  to  overcome  another's  reasoning. 
To  persuade  is  to  sway  a  man's  feeling  and  will,  specially  with 
reference  to  action.  One  convinces  a  man  that  he  is  in  the 
wrong,  in  order  to  persuade  him  to  change. 

There  are  no  Absolute  Synonyms.  —  It  is  the  tendency 
of  a  language  to  let  no  two  words  stand  in  it  side  by  side 
with  precisely  the  same  meaning ;  and  it  is  a  scholar's 
duty  to  see  to  it  that  these  distinctions  are  well  founded, 
based  on  the  history  of  the  words.  There  are  instances, 
however,  in  which  words  have  come  into  English  from 
different  languages,  with  no  real  distinction  in  their 
original  meanings.  In  such  a  case,  an  arbitrary  distinction 
soon  arises.  For  example,  sympathy  and  compassion  are 
exactly  parallel  words,  one  from  the  Greek,  the  other  from 
the  Latin, — both  meaning,  by  derivation,  with-feeling^ 
fellow-feeling.  But  a  distinction  has  grown  up  which 
permits  sympathy  to  keep  its  earliest  meaning,  applicable 
to  either  joy  or  sorrow ;  while  compassion  is  used  in  the 
later  sense  of  i^Wow -suffering^  pity.  On  the  other  hand, 
passion  is  used  of  a  great  emotion,  whether  of  love  or  of 
anger ;  while  pathos  is  kept  for  sorrow. 


104  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH    WORDS 

Value  of  these  Distinctions.  —  However  these  distinc- 
tions arise,  it  is  the  mark  of  a  trained  artist  to  use  them 
not  as  limitations,  but  as  opportunities.  By  fine  shading 
in  words,  a  writer  is  enabled  to  convey  the  finer  effects  of 
feeling,  the  finer  shades  of  thought,  and  if  his  choice  of 
words  seems  at  first  to  be  narrowed  by  the  fact  that  in  a 
large  group  of  synonyms  there  is  really  only  one  that  fits 
his  meaning,  the  force  and  beauty  of  that  one  right  word 
is  just  so  much  heightened. 

Let  us  now  study  some  passages  that  show  well-chosen 
words :  — 

1.    From  Lowell's  JjTar^^arc?  Commemoration  Ode:  — 

"  Long  as  man's  hope  insatiate  can  discern 
Or  only  guess  some  more  inspiring  goal." 

The  three  words  here  that  seem  chosen  with  particular 
art  are  insatiate^  discern^  guess.  Insatiate^  because  it  is 
so  sympathetic  with  hope;  insatiable  would  have  stated 
boldly  that  the  hope  would  never  be  satisfied ;  while 
insatiate  (which  is  really  un-sated)  has  the  more  subtle 
idea  of  not  yet  satisfied,  and  allows  one  to  look  on  into  the 
future.  Discern  and  guess  are  well  chosen,  because  they 
bring  into  vivid  contrast  the  two  faculties,  reason  and 
imagination,  of  both  of  which  Hope  avails  herself;  to 
discern  is  to  separate  between^  and  implies  the  most  accurate 
and  painstaking  mental  process ;  to  guess  is  to  loose  the 
fancy  from  all  bonds  of  reason.  Some  goals  can  be  dis- 
cerned^ grasped  by  logic ;  toward  such  Hope  presses 
rationally ;  others  can  only  be  guessed  by  freest  fancy 
or  aspiration ;  toward  such  Hope  presses  irrationally. 
How  much  more  he  has  said  about  the  eagerness,  the 
greed,  of  Hope,  than  could  have  been  said  in  three 
other  wora^. 


SYNONYMS  105 

2.    From  Matthew  Arnold's  Sonnet  on  Shakespeare :  — 
"  Self -schooled,  self-scanned,  self-honored,  self-secure." 

These  words  are  evidently  chosen  with  care ;  let  us  see 
just  how. 

What  the  author  means  to  emphasize  is  that  Shake- 
speare stands  alone  in  his  generation  and  above  its 
standards  and  its  sympathy.     He  — 

"  walked  on  earth  unguessed  at," 
as  the  mountain  hides  his  head  in  clouds,  and — 

"  Spares  but  the  cloudy  border  of  his  base 
To  the  foiled  searching  of  Mortality." 

If  none  other  schooled  him,  he  schooled  himself  ;  if  none 
scanned  him,  he  scaimed  himself ;  for  honor  and  security 
he  depended  upon  himself. 

Doubtless  the  words  self-schooled^  self-scanned^  were 
chosen  partly  for  the  alliterative  effect;  but  how,  in 
meaning,  do  they  compete  with  their  synonyms?  Clearly, 
much  would  be  lost  by  not  keeping  the  self  in  the  four 
words.  As  to  the  participles,  schooled  means  trained^  dis- 
ciplined ;  in  such  hands  as  Matthew  Arnold's,  schooled 
recalls  the  original  Greek  word,  which  meant  leisure^  and 
suggests,  not  the  technical  training  of  our  schools,  but 
the  calmer,  more  pervasive  education  which  belongs,  not 
to  a  course,  but  to  life.  It  is  a  better  word  here  than 
disciplined^  because  discipline  is  a  prose  word,  —  both  in 
sound  and  in  association,  too  clumsy  for  poetry. 

Scanned  means  scrutinized ;  but  it  has  the  advantage  of 
being  better  suited  to  verse  ;  and  it  has  not  the  suggestion 
)f  looking  for  a  flaw  that  seems  to  go  with  scrutinize;  the 
lerivation  of  scan  (from  Latin  scandere^  to  climb)  seems  to 


106  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH    WORDS 

give  the  idea  of  going  over  hy  degrees^  and  so,  thoroughly, 
not  hastily. 

Honored  has  a  number  of  synonyms,  — praised^  respected^ 
revered^  esteemed;  but  of  the  group  honored  is  the  word 
particularly  associated  with  the  rewards  of  literary  great- 
ness. Self-praised^  self -esteemed^  have  also  associations  of 
self-glorification;  and  self-respecting  is  a  decidedly  prosaic 
word. 

Secure  means  safe  (without  care).  He  could  not  say 
self-safe^  and  self  saved  would  mean  self-rescued.  Self- 
guarded  or  self  protected  would  suggest  aggressive  eifort, 
while  self -secure  gives  just  the  right  impression  of  a  calm 
self-poise,  carrying  out  the  figure  of  the  mountain.  So  it 
appears  that  we  could  not  change  one  of  these  words  with- 
out marring  the  effect. 

8.    An  example  from  Shakespeare,- — Macbeth:  — 

"  the  king-becoming  graces, 
As  justice,  verity,  temperance,  stableness, 
Bounty,  perseverance,  mercy,  lowliness, 
Devotion,  patience,  courage,  fortitude,  —  '* 

We  can  soon  see  that  this  passage  is  ruined  by  the  substi- 
tution of  less  artistically  chosen  synonyms ;  for  instance,  — 

the  sovereign-like  virtues, 
Equity,  truthfulness,  moderation,  constancy, 
Generosity,  persistence,  pity,  humility. 
Faithfulness,  resignation,  bravery,  endurance. 

Here  it  is  not  so  much  that  the  words  taken  separately 
are  inferior  for  their  purpose,  as  that  the  harmony  of  the 
whole  is  gone.  Shakespeare  has  the  art  of  so  grouping 
words  that,  as  in  a  piece  of  mosaic,  the  impression  is  of  a 
whole,  not  of   a  sequence  or  list.     In  this  passage,  the 


SYNONYMS  lQ7 

effect  of  the  simplicity  and  broad  humanity  which  he 
calls  king-becoming,  rather  than  an  artificial  condescen- 
sion toward  his  subjects,  is  given  by  the  whole  as  a  whole, 
though  it  is  especially  marked  by  the  simpler  words, — 
bounty  for  generosity^  stableness  for  constancy.  The  general 
difference  between  his  group  of  words  and  ours  is  hinted 
at  by  his  first  general  term,  graces  —  a  more  spontaneous 
word  than  virtues. 

In  this  passage  from  Macbeth^  the  choice  of  words  de- 
pends, of  course,  somewhat  upon  the  verse  meter  ;  and  in 
prose,  our  choice  will  be  partly  governed  by  the  rhythm  of 
words  and  word  sequences. 

Before  taking  up  the  subject  of  rhythm  as  affecting 
the  selection  of  words,  let  us  look  at  two  important 
advantages  to  be  gained  by  care  in  distinguishing  syno- 
nyms :  1.  As  a  basis  for  Argument ;  2.  As  a  method  of 
Persuasion. 

Choice  of  Words  as  a  Basis  for  Argument. — Carlyle 
often  condenses  the  whole  force  of  an  argument  into  the 
distinction  between  two  synonyms,  and  this  distinction  he 
almost  always  bases  upon  the  derivation  of  the  words. 

"A  man,"  he  says,  "can  do  without  Happiness,  and 
instead  thereof  find  Blessedness.  Why  ?  Because  Hap- 
piness depends  on  hap^  and  man  cannot  depend  upon  a 
-per-haps!.  He  must  be  able  to  do  without  this  ;  but  what 
is  there  to  take  its  place  ?  Ah  !  he  may  have  Blessed- 
ness^ which  word  —  even  if  we  do  not  accept  the  deriva- 
tion from  'Blood'  with  the  idea  of  sacrifice — has  always 
something  of  a  religious  meaning,  and  suggests  the  stead- 
fastness of  its  source,  which  is — not '  hap '  but  God,''  This 
meaning  he  emphasizes  further  on,  —  "Love  not  Pleasure, 
love  God  ;  this  is  the  Everlasting  Yea." 

We  have   just  seen  an  instance  of   Matthew  Arnold's 


1Q8  STUDY   OF  ENGLISH   WORDS 

choice  of  words  in  a  sonnet,  —  short,  pithy  words,  as  was 
lit  for  sonnet  form  ;  words  that  carried  the  impression  of 
cahn  majesty,  as  was  fitting  for  his  subject,  Shakespeare. 
Let  us  now  see  how,  in  prose,  he  uses  the  same  care  in 
his  choice  of  words,  making  his  whole  argument  turn  on 
phrasing  that  exactly  suits  his  meaning,  and  repeating 
these  phrases  over  and  over  with  an  insistence  too  severe 
for  a  commonplace  writer,  who  would  need  a  variety  of 
synonyms  to  give  variety  to  his  style.  For,  as  in  matters 
of  architecture  or  of  dress,  so  severe  a  simplicity  is  very 
trying  and  must  be  carried  out  with  perfect  art. 

In  his  essay  On  Translating  Homer  he  says  that  Homer 
has  four  qualities  never  to  be  lost  sight  of  by  a  translator  ; 
that  he  is  eminently  rapid ;  eminently  plain  and  direct  in 
style ;  eminently  plain  and  direct  in  ideas ;  eminently 
noble.  These  words  the  great  critic  turns  over  and  over, 
in  the  pages  that  follow,  wringing  out  of  them  their 
utmost  of  descriptive  power,  showing  that  it  is  for  want 
of  the  understanding  of  these  simple  qualities  that  this 
or  the  other  translator  has  wholly  or  partially  failed, — till 
we  are  driven  to  the  conclusion  that  these  and  no  other 
words  explain  such  failures  of  the  past  and  possibilities 
for  the  future. 

Choice  of  Words  as  a  Method  of  Persuasion.  —  To  the 
orator,  the  proper  choice  of  words  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance, for  on  it  to  a  large  extent  depends  his  power 
of  persuading  and  swaying  his  audience.  As  an  exam- 
ple of  an  orator  who  could  hit  upon  the  right  word 
for  bringing  his  audience  to  his  side,  we  may  xtake 
Disraeli.  Once,  after  a  cutting  speech  from  Lord  Salis- 
bury, he  took  the  sting  out  of  it  and  turned  the  laugh 
upon  his  opponent  by  remarking,  "The  noble  lord's  in- 
vective possesses  vigor,  but  it  has  one  defect,  —  it  lacks 


SYNONYMS  109 

finish!'''  The  word  finish  is  so  cool,  so  neat,  so  calmly 
judicial,  that  in  point  and  delicacy  no  one  of  its  syno- 
nyms—  grace^  polish^  ease,  elegance  —  can  match  it.  It 
has  also  the  other  suggestion  of  an  end. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  short  chapter  that  in  daily 
speech  we  may  gain  or  lose  much,  in  proportion  to  our 
regard  for  the  proper  distinctions  of  synonyms.  In  the 
most  trivial  talk.  Discriminate  !  Do  not  say  that  a  girl, 
a  cheese,  a  dance,  a  sky,  a  story,  a  sermon,  a  day,  are 
"lovely."  The  girl  may  be  lovely;  the  cheese  is  excel- 
lent; the  dance  was  delightful;  the  sky,  beautiful;  the 
story,  entertaining;  the  sermon,  remarkably  good;  the 
day,  fine. 

Do  not,  above  all,  use  words  with  no  regard  whatever 
for  their  meaning,  in  such  a  phrase  as  "I  like  her  awfully 
well." 

The  habit  of  using  words  intelligently  is  of  twofold 
value,  as  a  means  and  an  end  :  1.  a  means  of  training  the 
mind  for  scholarly  thought  on  any  subject,  and  for  well- 
defined  thought  in  practical  life  ;  2.  an  end,  in  improving 
the  tone  of  general  conversation  and  letter  writing. 

QUESTIONS   ON   CHAPTER   IX 

1.  What  is  meant  by  synonyms  f 

2.  On  what  two  considerations  does  the  choice  of  synonyms 
depend  ? 

3.  How,  in  other  words,  is  our  use  of  a  word  governed  by 
its  Past  and  Present  ? 

4.  Comment  on  the  history  of  the  words  cunning  and  pretty. 

5.  Discuss  the  synonyms  affable,  accessible,  courteous,  civil, 
benign,  and  write  sentences  showing  difference  in  use  and 
meaning. 

6.  Use  as  above^  awful,  fearful,  dreadful,  terrible,  horrible. 


110  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

7.  To  love,  like  J  enjoy,  incline  to,  he  pleased  with,  he  content 
with,  he  satisfied  with. 

8.  Invent,  discover.  16.    Artist,  artisan. 

9.  Leisure,  idleness.  17.    Certain,  sure. 

10.  Lease,  hire.  18.  Allow,  permit. 

11.  Custom,  hahit.  19.  Empty,  vacant. 

12.  Enough,  sufficient.  20.  Kill,  murder. 

13.  Hinder,  prevent.  «  21.  Propose,  purpose. 

14.  Character,  reputation.  22.  Hope,  expect. 

15.  Vice,  crime.  23.  Knowledge,  wisdom. 

24.  Convince,  persuade. 

25.  What   is   meant   by   an   arhitrary  distinction   between 
synonyms,  as  between  sympathy  and  compassion? 

26.  What  may  a  word  artist  gain  from  a  careful  discrimina- 
tion between  synonyms  ? 

27.  "Long  as  man's  hope  insatiate  can  discern 

Or  only  guess  some  more  inspiring  goal.'' 

Point  out  the  niceties  of  word  selection  in  this  passage.  (Other 
words  than  those  specially  noted  in  the  text  should  be  taken 
up  here.) 

28.  Discuss  the  verse, — 

"  Self -schooled,  self-scanned,  self-honored,  self-secure." 

29.  In  the  passage  from  Macheth,  look  up  all   derivations 
and  synonyms,  and  discuss  in  detail. 

30.  What  two  particular  advantages  to  the  writer  or  speaker 
are  to  be  gained  by  careful  distinguishing  of  synonyms  ? 

31.  What  general  advantages,  for  the  daily  purposes  of  life  ? 

TOPICS 

Distinction  of  synonyms  for  the  purposes  of  Art,  Argument, 
Persuasion,  Study,  Conversation,  and  Letter  Writing. 


CHAPTER   X 

RHYTHM 

Prose  Accent.  —  Prose  has  been  said  to  be  to  verse  what 
walking  is  to  dancing  ;  that  is,  while  the  measure  of  prose 
is  not  marked  by  a  regular  recurrence  of  the  accent  or 
beat,  there  should  be  a  rhythmical  movement,  giving  to  it 
a  grace  of  its  own. 

In  English  verse  there  is  less  regularity  than  in  classic 
verse.  As  Sidney  Lanier  says  in  his  Science  of  English 
Verse^  though  each  measure  between  two  accents,  like  a 
bar  of  music,  has  an  equal  time,  this  time  may  be  distrib- 
uted over  any  number  of  syllables,  provided  the  number 
is  not  too  great  for  easy  movement.  The  usual  number 
of  syllables  in  an  English  foot  is  two  or  three.  These 
varieties  of  foot  are  named  thus :  — 

Trochee;  two  syllables,  with   an  accent  on  the  first,  as 

Idve-ly, 
Iambus:  two  syllables,  with  an  accent  on  the  second,  as 

a-fdr. 
Dactyl :  three  syllables,  with  an  accent  on  the  first,  as 

ten-der-ly. 
Amphibrach :  three  syllables,  with  an  accent  on  the  second,  as 

171  spring  time  (rare). 
Anapest :  three  syllables,  with  an  accent  on  the  third,  as 

in  the  light. 

Ill 


112  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

Three  syllables  may  be  substituted  for  two  (like  a  triplet 
of  eighth-notes  for  one  quarter,  in  music),  or  two  for  one, 
provided  the  accent  and  the  general  time  are  not  dis- 
turbed ;  or  the  accent  may  be  shifted,  for  a  special  effect, 
as  is  done  in  music  when  the  middle  of  the  bar  receives 
the  accent  by  syncopation. 

Recurrence  of  Unaccented  Syllables.  —  It  is  rare,  how- 
ever, either  in  verse  or  in  prose,  to  have  more  than  two 
unaccented  syllables  follow  each  other.  So  natural  is  this 
habit  to  the  English  tongue,  that  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  get  people  to  say,  cdntumeli/,  hd  spit  able.  The  tendency 
is  to  divide  more  evenly,  —  contHmely,  hospitable  ;  or  to  give 
a  secondary  accent,  —  mdtrimony^  ciistomdry.  A  certain 
class  of  words  is  thus  cut  out  of  poetical  use,  unless  the 
poem  is  very  irregular  in  form,  or  a  humorous  effect  is 
aimed  at.  It  is  difficult  to  fit  into  regular  verse  form 
such  words  as  cdmbatable^  disinterestedly^  without  interfer- 
ing with  both  accent  and  time.  By  the  use  of  secondary 
accent,  however,  in  such  words  as  readily  admit  it,  long 
words  may  be  used  in  a  perfectly  metrical  verse ;  as  in 
Poe's 

"  tm-tin-ab-u-la-tion  of  the  bells.'' 

This  four-time  verse  is  rare  in  English.  The  reason  for 
its  rarity  may  be  the  prejudice  spoken  of  above,  against 
three  consecutive  unaccented  syllables. 

This  prejudice  holds  in  prose  as  in  verse.  It  is  an  im- 
portant principle  that  for  rhythmical  prose,  we  must  avoid 
the  fault  of  too  great  regularity  of  accent  (sing-song  in 
prose,  because  not  proper  to  prose  as  it  is  to  verse),  and 
the  opposite  fault  of  too  great  irregularity  (for  to  that 
extent,  the  same  laws  of  rhythm  govern  both  prose  and 
verse)      In  other  words,  the  accent  should  occur  usually 


RHYTHM  113 

*:it  a  distance  not  greater  than  three  syllables,  though  the 
three  must  be  varied  with  one  and  two. 

Recurrence  of  Accented  Syllables. — There  is  also  a  preju- 
dice against  more  than  two  consecutive  accents.  Two 
accented  syllables  or,  in  some  cases,  three,  may  be  thrown 
together  for  special  eifects,  as  for  the  emphasis  of  broken 
rhythm,  or  for  imitation  of  a  pause  in  feeling  ;  for  a  break 
or  a  pause  will  be  made,  equal  in  time  to  the  value  of  an 
unaccented  syllable  between  the  two  accents.  For  in- 
stance, Carlyle  throws  the  emphasis  of  pause  on  these 
adjectives :  — 

"one  huge  dead  steam-engine." 

For  a  study  of  the  requirements  of  rhythmical  prose, 
see  how — other  things  equal — we  naturally  put  names 
together  in  a  firm  name.  It  is  smoother  to  say  Tait  and 
Morrison  than  Mdrrison  and  Tait,  because  in  the  former 
the  accents  are  better  arranged  ;  in  the  latter,  there  are 
three  unaccented  syllables  between  the  accented  extremes, 
and  the  syllables  son  and  and  are  not  easily  pronounced 
together  quickly  enough  to  take  the  place  of  one.  Again 
we  may  put  in  or  leave  out  and  for  the  purposes  of  rhythm ; 
the  Shipley  F6rd  Company  needs  no  and,  but  the  Smith 
F6rd  Cdmpany  sounds  better  with  an  unaccented  syllable 
inserted  to  break  the  two  accents,  —  the  Smith  and  F6rd 
Cdmpany.  These  effects,  as  pleasing  to  the  popular  ear, 
and  as  an  aid  to  memory,  have  a  practical  business 
value,  e.g.,  in  the  titles  of  books. 

This  natural  desire  for  rhythm,  even  in  prose,  enters 
into  the  choice  of  synonyms  and  arrangement  of  words. 

In  this  respect,  let  us  now  analyze  the  words  and  word 
sequences  of  some  descriptive  prose  from  a  story  of 
Stevenson's :  — 

STU.   ENG.  WORDS 8 


114  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

"  The  sea,  it  is  true,  was  smooth  like  glass :  even  the  Boost 
was  but  a  seam  on  that  wide  mirror,  and  the  Merry  Men  no 
more  than  caps  of  foam;  but  to  my  eye  and  ear,  so  long 
familiar  with  these  places,  the  sea  also  seemed  to  lie  uneasily ; 
a  sound  of  it,  like  a  long  sigh,  mounted  to  me  where  I  stood ; 
and,  quiet  as  it  was,  the  Roost  itself  appeared  to  be  revolving 
mischief.  For  I  x)ught  to  say  that  all  we  dwellers  in  these 
parts  attributed,  if  not  prescience,  at  least  a  quality  of  warn- 
ing, to  that  strange  and  dangerous  creature  of  the  tides/' 

Study  particularly  the  effect  of  the  syllables,  — 
"a  16ng  sigh,  mdunted," 

with  the  imitative  pause  demanded  as  for  the  time  of  an 
unaccented  syllable  between — 

"  a  long  (-er)  sigh  (-ing),  mounted^ 

Now  examine,  with  regard  to  rhythm,  the  closing  sentence 
of  Dr.  R.  S.  Storrs's  Oration  at  the  opening  of  the  East 
River  Bridge  :  — 

"  Surely  we  should  not  go  from  this  hour,  which  marks  a 
new  era  in  the  history  of  these  cities,  and  which  points  to  their 
future  indefinite  expansion,  without  the  purpose  in  each  of  us 
that,  so  far  forth  as  in  us  lies,  with  their  increase  in  numbei-s, 
wealth,  equipment,  shall  also  proceed  with  equal  step  then- 
progress  in  whatever  is  noblest  and  best  in  public  and  private 
life ;  that  all  which  sets  humanity  forward  shall  come  in  them 
to  ampler  endowment,  more  renowned  exhibition;  so  that, 
linked  together,  as  hereafter  they  must  be,  and  seeing  the 
purple  deepening  in  their  robes  of  power,  they  may  be  always 
increasingly  conscious  of  fulfilled  obligation  to  the  nation  and 
to  God ;  may  make  the  land,  at  whose  magnificent  gateway 
they  stand,  their  constant  debtor,  and  may  contribute  their 
mighty  part  toward  that  ultimate  perfect  human  society  for 


RHYTHM  115 

which  the  seer  could  find  no  image  so  meet  or  so  majestic  as 
that  of  a  city,  coming  down  from  above,  its  stones  laid  with 
fair  colors,  its  foundations  with  sapphires,  its  windows  of 
agates,  its  gates  of  carbuncles,  and  all  its  borders  of  pleasant 
stones,  with  the  sovereign  promise  resplendent  above  it :  — 

*  And  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy  children.' " 

The  rhythm  of  this  is  more  artificial  than  that  of 
Stevenson;  but  of  its  kind,  it  is  almost  perfect.  The 
smoothness  can  easily  be  seen  to  depend  on  the  words 
and  on  their  sequence  in  about  equal  proportion. 

"  With  the  sovereign  promise  resplendent  above  it " 
reads  like  a  verse  from  a  poem  based  on  the  regular 
foot,  two  unaccented  syllables  followed  by  an  accented ; 
it  is  saved  from  being  too  regular  for  prose  by  the  irregu- 
larity of  the  following  phrase ;  if  this  read,  "  And  great  is 
the  peace  of  thy  children,"  there  would  be  an  unpleasantly 
sing-song  sound  to  the  whole ;  so  that,  to  break  this,  the 
three  successive  unaccented  syllables  are  welcome. 

Now  the  rhythm  of  the  phrase  is  very  beautiful.  If  it 
had  been  written,  '^  With  the  majestic  promise  shining 
over  it,"  the. loss  of  effectiveness  would  have  been  due 
quite  as  much  to  the  lack  of  rhythm  as  to  anything  in  the 
meaning  or  associations  of  the  words. 

As  to  sequence,  take  the  phrase  "  in  numbers,  wealth, 
equipment."  How  much  poorer  it  is  if  we  say,  "in  equip- 
ment, wealth,  numbers."  In  the  original  phrase,  the  three 
words  roll  smoothly  together  to  give  us  just  the  desired 
effect  of  combined  resources. 

But  rhythm  does  not  always  mean  smoothness.  This 
would  be  fatal  to  a  passage  in  which  sharp  contrast  or 
emphasis  was  desired  ;  abruptness  may  be  so  managed 
as  to  have  a  fine  rhythm  of  its  own  ;   for  example,  — 


116  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

"  Be  no  longer  a  Chaos.  Produce !  Produce !  Were  it 
but  the  pitifulest  infinitesimal  fraction  of  a  Product,  pro- 
duce it ! '' 

Here  the  swing  of  the  sentence,  as  well  as  the  meaning 
of  it,  throws  in  the  four  unaccented  little  syllables  — 
"  were  it  but  the  "  ;  then  comes  out  with  emphasis  on 
'-'pitifulest  infinitesimal,''  and  jerks  out  the  crisis  of  stress 
on  ''frdction.''  The  unusual  number  of  unaccented  sylla- 
bles between  -pit-  and  -tes six  of  them  —  gives  an  effect 

of  a  torrent  of  words  sweeping  one  on  to  the  climax. 
Rough  as  is  this  rhythm,  it  is  not  lawless  or  the  effect 
of  chance.  To  make  one  little  change  —  most  pitiful  for 
pitifulest  —  would  spoil  it. 

It  is  said  that  the  natural  expression  of  strong  feeling 
is  always  rhythmical ;  like  the  rhythm  of  the  unrestrained 
winds  in  a  great  storm  —  not  the  smooth  rhythm  of  peace- 
fully lapping  waves. 

Addison  says,  in  one  of  the  Spectator  papers,  that  the 
sounds  of  English  words  are  less ''  tunable  and  sonorous  " 
than  those  of  other  languages,  —  "like  string  music,  short 
and  transient,  sounds  which  rise  and  perish  upon  a  single 
touch,"  while  those  of  other  languages  are  "like  the  notes 
of  wind  instruments,  sweet  and  swelling,  and  lengthened 
out  into  variety  of  modulation." 

The  inconvenience  of  short  words  for  lengthened  sound 
is  at  once  felt  in  calling  to  a  person.  We  use  the  longer 
form  of  a  name,  "  Be^-sie  !  "  rather  than  "  Bess,"  prolonging 
the  latter  syllable  to  be  heard  at  a  distance.  A  monosyllable 
has  not  much  "  carrying  "  power.  Southerners  often  say, 
"  0  Mary  I  "  allowing  the  long  sound  of  the  call  to  rest 
on  the  vowel  0.  So,  too,  we  say,  "  Hurry  up  l''  when, 
for  meaning,  "  Hurry !  "  would  do  as  well. 

When  we  read  of  Fox  saying,  "  If  I  had  a  son  I  should 


RHYTHM  117 

insist  on  his  frequently  writing  English  verses,  because 
that  sort  of  composition  forces  one  to  consider  very  care- 
fully the  exact  meaning  of  words,"  we  can  go  farther  and 
say  that  the  necessities  of  rhythmical  prose  also  force  upon 
one  the  exact  consideration  of  synonyms:  and  that  we 
shall  be  masters  of  words  only  when  we  can  balance  the 
claims  of  their  derivative  meaning,  their  associations,  and 
their  metrical  value. 

It  is  more  clearly  understood  than  it  used  to  be,  that 
this  choosing  and  using  of  words  is  not  a  superficial  but  a 
vital  and  inextricable  part  of  thought^  even  of  character. 
So  largely  is  a  man's  vocabulary  the  result  of  his  life  and 
development,  that  his  language  is,  as  Buffon  said,  "  of  the 
man."  So  also  is  the  language  of  a  nation  the  expression 
of  the  character  and  genius  of  that  people. 

QUESTIONS   ON   CHAPTER   X 

1.  Is  there  anything  in  prose  corresponding  to  meter  in 
verse  ? 

2.  What  are  the  recognized  varieties  of  foot  in  English  verse  ? 

3.  What  two  general  laws  govern  the  frequency  of  accents 
in  both  prose  and  verse  ? 

4.  Give  an  example  of  the  application  of  these  laws  to  the 
wording  of  a  firm  name. 

5.  Analyze  the  passage  from  Stevenson,  with  reference  to 
accents. 

6.  The  same,  in  the  sentence  from  Dr.  Storrs. 

7.  Can  a  rough  emphasis  be  rhythmical  ? 

8.  What  was  Addison's  remark  about  the  English  language, 
with  reference  to  rhythm  ? 

9.  Illustrate  the  necessity  of  rhythm  in  calling  to  any  one. 
10.    What  did  Fox  say  of  the  bearing  of  verse  writing  upon 

the  choice  and  use  of  words  ? 


118  STUDY   OF   ENGLISH   WORDS 

TOPICS   IN   CONNECTION   WITH   CHAPTER   X 

I.   A  study  of  Sidney  Lanier's  theory,  that  "Prose  is  an 
irregular  variety  of  verse."      (For  advanced  students, 
this   would    amply    repay   two    weeks'    work    at   this 
point). 
II.    Rhythm  illustrated  in  Emerson's  Essays. 

III.  In  Euskin's  Sesame  and  Lilies,  first  lecture. 

IV.  Carlyle's  contrasts  of  smoothness  and  roughness. 

V.   The  sing-song  quality  of  parts  of  Edwin  Arnold's  Light 
^§^'  -^         of  Asia, 


INDEX 


Accent,  111 

Accessible,  99 

Accurnulation,  79 

Addison,  quoted  89,  116 

Adjectives  in  -ble,  68 

Affable,  99 

Allow,  10.2 

Alphabet,  development  of,  13 

Angles,  Saxons,  Jutes,  25 

Arabic  element  in  English,  29 

Arm,  73 

Arnold,  quoted,  105 

Artist,  artisan,  102 
Artist's  and  scientist's  use  of 

words,  Chapter  VIII 

Association,  93-96 

Awful,  100 


Bacon,  quoted,  88 

Benign,  99 

Brother,  17 

Urowne,  Sir  Thomas,  quoted,  88 

Bunyan,  quoted,  88 


Carlyle,  quoted,  89,  107,  116 

Celtic  element  in  English,  25 

Certain,  102 

Change  in  words,  15 

Changes    in   form   of  English 

words,  50-65 

Changes  in  meaning,  70-81 


PAGK 

Character,  102 
Chaucer,  influence  on  English,     28 

Civil,  99 

Classification  of  consonants,  16 

Classification  of  derivatives,  31 
Compound  words,                    18,  51 

Consonant  sounds,  15 

Consonant  groups,  18 

Content,  100 

Convince,  103 

Court,  75 

Courteous^  99 

Crime,  102 

Chinning,  98 

Custom,  101 

D 

Dead  languages,  10 

Development  of  word-meanings,  70 
Discover,  101 

Distinguishing  of  synonyms, 

104-109 
Dreadful,  100 

Dutch  element  in  English,  30 

E 

Early  English,  27 

Ecclesiastical-Latin  derivatives,  26 
Emerson,  quoted,  90 

Empty, .  102 

English  in  1100,  27 

in  1200,  27-28 

English,   difference   between 

Early  and  Modem,  29 


119 


120 


INDEX 


Enjoy, 

100 

Invent, 

101 

Enough^ 

102 

Italian  element  in  English, 

29 

Etymologies,  mistaken, 

19 

Expect, 

103 

J 

Eye, 

74 

James,  quoted, 

90 

F 

Johnson,  quoted, 

89 

Father, 

17 

Jutes, 

26 

Fearful, 

100 

K 

Foot, 

73 

KUl, 

102 

Franklin,  quoted, 

89 

Kipling,  quoted. 

91 

French  element  in 

English, 
34, 

41-45 

Knowledge, 

T 

103 

G 


11 


Genealogy  of  Language, 

of  Indo-European 

languages,  12 

of  English,  .  12 

German  element  in  English,  29 

Gilder,  quoted,  91 

Gradually,  79 
Greek  derivatives,              31,  34-36 

Grimm's  Law,  17 


Habit,  101 

Hand,  74 

Head,  70,  73 
Hebrew  element  in  English,         29 

Heptarchy,  25 

Hinder,  102 

Hire,  101 

History  in  words,  79 

Hope,  103 

Horrible,  100 

Howells,  quoted,  91 

Humorous  words,  96 

Hybrids,  45 


Idleness, 

101 

Incline, 

100 

Indian  element  in  English, 

29 

Inflectional  change, 

51 

Intend, 

76 

Language  growth,  23 

Lanier,  quoted,  85 

Latin  derivatives,  spelling,  66-69 
Latin  element  in  English,  34,  37-40 
Latin-English,  exactness  of,  83 
Latin  and  Saxon  English, 

Chapter  YII 
Latin  prefixes,  53-55 

Latin  stems,  37-39 

Latin  suffixes,  58-61 

Latin,  why  not  established  in 

Britain  ?  24 

Lease,  101 

Leisure,  101 

Like,  love,  100 

Limit,  '  78 

M 
Macaulay,  quoted,  90 

Mental   and  physical  uses   of 

words,  77 

Metaphors  in  language-growth, 

70,  72,  75-79 
Mile,  24 

Milton,  quoted,  88 

Monosyllabic  language,  50 

Murder,  102 

N 
Narrowing  of  meanings,  79 

Norman  element  in  English, 

27,  42,  43 
Norse  element  in  English,  26 


INDEX 


121 


Organism,  language  an,  10 

Origin  of  words  tested  by 

spelling,  46 


Periods  of  English,  with  refer- 
ence to  "Latin"  and 
*' Saxon"  words,  86 

Permit,  102 

Persian  element  in  English,  29 

Persuade,  103 

Philology,  philosophy,  35 

Physical  and  mental  meanings,    77 
Pleased,  100 

Prefixes,  51 

from  Greek,  62-53 

from  Latin,  53-55 

from  French,  55 

from  English,  55,  56 

Pretty,  98 

Prevent,  102 

Privilege,  78 

Proportion  of  elements  in  Eng- 
lish, 46,  86 

R 

Rhythm,  Chapter  X 

Roman  invasion,  traces  in 

English,  24 

Roots,  50 

S 

Satisjied,  100 

Saxons,  25 

Saxon  English,  45,  46,  85 

Saxon  and  Latin  English, 

Chapter  VII 
Scandinavian  element  in  English,  26 
JSetf  75 


Shakespeare,  quoted,  87,  106 

Spanish  element  in  English,         29 
Spelling,  English,  29,  66-69 

Spencer,  quoted,  83 

Stems,  50 

Stevenson,  quoted,  114 

Storrs,  quoted,  114 

Street,  24 

Study,  41,  78 

Successive,  78 

Sufficient,  102 

Suffixes,  57 

from  Greek,  57,  58 

from  Latin  and  French, 

68,61 

from  English,  62,  63 

Sure,  102 

Synonyms,  Chapter  IX 


Technical  Greek  derivatives,  31 

Tennyson,  quoted,  86 

Terrible,'  100 

Teutonic  tribes  in  Britain,  25 

Tongue,  75 

Turkish  element  in  English,  29 

Two,  17 

V 

Vacant,  102 

Various  elements  in  English,  29 

Vice,  102 

Vowels,  15 

W 

Weakening  of  stems,  64,  69 

Wisdom.,  103 

Wyclif ,  influence  on  English,  28 


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